Calling Up a Storm
by BobShiza
Summary: Three-year old Izuku Midoriya was going to become a hero, nothing would change that. Enter Katsuki Bakugo, a fiery blonde who will stop at nothing to achieve his goals. What if these aspiring heroes had developed a different relationship, one full of friendly competition yet cooperation instead? What's more, what if Izuku had awakened his quirk?
1. New Beginnings

The sun was just peeking over the horizon, shining yellow streaks of light onto mother and son, as they strolled together towards their destination. Throughout the entire walk, the three-year old Izuku Midoriya pointed excitedly at any object of his affection. He gushed at every single little thing out of the norm, which was a lot, considering the world they lived in.

Inko Midoriya, mother of said child, couldn't help but giggle at her precious baby's zeal over anything quirk or hero related. She had shown Izuku a clip of a Pro Hero at work that her coworkers sent a few months ago, a new obsession grew within him, and his admiration of heroes knew no bounds."

"Look Mommy, over here!" Izuku raised his finger, bringing his mother's and various commuters' attention to the live feed of a scuffle between a hero and a villain at a nearby television. The Buster Hero: Air Jet, was expertly maneuvering around the mantis-looking evildoer, while shooting energy projectiles from his arm cannon.

"He's doing it! He's beating that villain with his Cannon Quirk! He's so cool!" A sizeable crowd had formed around the large television, witnessing the action-packed fight unfold before their very eyes.

Inko patted her son's head tenderly, with a sweet smile on her face. "That's nice sweetie, let's hope that you get a quirk like that too. But we should get going, you don't want to be late for kindergarten." With that, she gently tugged on Izuku's hand, prompting him to get a move on.

"Okay Mommy!"

Exiting the fairly crowded shopping district, the two arrived at the modest kindergarten after a few more minutes of walking.

Inko bent down to Izuku's height, giving him a tight hug, which Izuku returned almost too enthusiastically. "Remember Izuku, don't cause trouble for the teachers, and don't be afraid to talk to all the other kids. I'm sure they'll warm up to you someday."

"I will Mommy, see you later!" Izuku replied, smiling widely back at his mother, causing her heart to melt as she inwardly gushed over her son's purity.

She wished she could spend all her time watching over her adorable son, but alas, she had to keep up the finances somehow. Thankfully, being a local chef at a nearby restaurant paid well enough to keep the family afloat.

Handing her son over to the attending caretaker, Inko planted a kiss on Izuku's forehead before leaving for work, waving back at Izuku as she turned the corner, leaving his sight. Izuku then hurried over to the group of kids in the middle of the room, where lessons would soon commence.

* * *

"We get it Izuku, you like heroes, but can you just shut up for a while and build your house?" A boy with navy blue hair complained, stealing a few LEGO pieces from Izuku's already depleted pile.

"Yeah, you keep saying the same thing everyday, we don't even have our quirks yet!" A fairly plump girl let out an exasperated sigh, turning her body away from the freckled Izuku.

"I think he already has his quirk: being super annoying!" One kid commented.

The entire group of kids snickered along at the distasteful joke, causing Izuku turn away in shame.

"Okay…sorry you guys." Izuku looked downwards, solemnly picking up another block to assemble his creation.

' _Looks like they don't like me today too…but if Mom says it'll get better, then I'm sure it will!_ ' Izuku thought to himself.

It was currently playtime, and the kids were all competing to see who could build the best house before kindergarten ended. Being the hero fanatic he was, he would try and bring up conversations with his fellow schoolmates regarding quirks and superheroes.

At first, the kids were fine with chatting, they too had their favourite heroes, and seen their fair share of amazing quirks to talk about. The problem was, Izuku could be a little...no, tremendously overbearing with the topic, he would ramble on and on endlessly, if someone did not stop him.

' _I just need one more brown piece…there it is!_ ' Izuku spread his pile and searched for a moment, spotting the final LEGO that would complete his blocky home. Pushing down hard, he fixed the lengthy piece onto his creation, and he wiped a sweatdrop off his forehead, admiring his hard work.

"Alright everyone, I have an announcement to make, could everyone stop what they're doing and gather round?" a female teacher with brown hair in a ponytail, Mrs. Sayaki, called out.

Being the only one who finished his house, Izuku happily skipped over, and stood at attention diligently as if he was a foot soldier. Moments later, multiple children followed suit, some begrudgingly so, as they had to stop their progress on their house.

When everyone settled down in front of Mrs. Sayaki, she continued. "Before the day ends, we've got a newcomer joining us from today onward, please treat him well." The caretaker announced as she signalled for someone to come forth from the entrance of the kindergarten. The children shifted their gazes to a proud kindergartener striding into the room, who was unusually calm.

"The name's Bakugo, Katsuki Bakugo nice to meet you all! Make sure you all remember my name, because one day, I'll become the number one Hero in the world, once I get my quirk!" Bakugo exclaimed, pumping a clenched fist up into the air. He stood tall while in the spotlight making eye contact with everyone, not afraid to meet their bewildered stares. Everyone was impressed by the bold declaration, and polite applause soon followed.

"Alright everyone, it's ten minutes before you all go home, finish up playing and pack up! You can talk with Bakugo tomorrow." Mrs. Sayaki said, shooing everyone away.

Panic erupted from within the crowd, as everyone worried about their incomplete houses. With that, Izuku watched as everyone behind him frantically raced off, leaving Izuku and Bakugo in the dust.

"Hey, you there, what's your name?" The same voice caught Izuku's attention, and he turned around, surprised to see Bakugo right up at his face..

"I-Izuku Midoriya! N-ice to meet you, B-Bakugo." Izuku shakily stammered, it wasn't everyday that someone actually chose to start up a conversation with him, even if it was the new kid.

Thankfully, Bakugo continued the conversation for him. "Seems like you guys are building houses or something? You done with yours?"

"Y-yes! It's over here." Izuku hesitated before continuing. "Wanna come see?"

"Sure." Bakugo replied with a nod.

Izuku led Bakugo over to the haphazard gathering of children, with LEGO pieces strewn around the feet of those still working on their houses. However, at Izuku's corner, there was barely any LEGO pieces on the floor, the majority of them being in a toy box. After Izuku picked up the stray pieces left, he cautiously lifted up the platform on which he built his house on, and handed it over to Bakugo.

While the other kindergarteners settled for typical designs, like the stereotypical cuboid base with a triangular-pyramid shaped roof, Izuku's house was awfully realistic. It was an apartment complex mainly comprised of parchment and grey bricks, with four levels contrasting in details. Bakugo could make out railings, miniature plants along corridors, and correctly scaled interiors, differing on every level. Even the entrance was meticulously decorated. It was an absolute work of art, and if it was a competition, Izuku had clearly won.

"Dude, this is really well made, you've got some skill for this. You gonna be an architect in the future?" Bakugo commented, rotating the masterpiece in his hands, unknowingly flattering Izuku in the process, who blushed at the unexpected compliment.

"Really? T-thanks Bakugo." Izuku blurted out with a shaky smile, scratching the side of his head "But I wanna be a hero more than anything, and save people just like All Might!" He always saves people with a smile, he's so cool!" Izuku smiled more firmly this time, recalling the feats of his favourite superhero.

"No way! You like All Might too?"

"Of course, who doesn't!"

"He's the best! He beats every superhero easily, it's like no one stands a chance no matter how hard they try! When I become as strong as All Might, no one will be able to stop me!" Bakugo said while placing both hands at his waist before breaking out into a miniature laugh, forgetting about the model house in his grasp. It plummeted to its doom and shattered upon impact, and large chunks of LEGO blocks were what remained of the previously complete house.

"Ack! Damn, my bad, forgot I was holding onto that." Bakugo looked to the side and scratched the back of his head sheepishly.

"D-don't worry about it too much! It's almost the end of the day, anyways." Izuku waved his hands, as if trying to swat away Bakugo's worries.

"Well, I'll help you clean up, it's the least I could do." In a flash, Bakugo picked up the largest pieces to place back into the plastic box meant for LEGOs. Izuku blinked, it was unfamiliar to Izuku that someone his age to offer him assistance, Izuku didn't know what to do for a moment...before realising that he should probably help to keep the pieces too. Bakugo did most of the heavy lifting, so Izuku collected the last few blocks and returned them promptly.

As if on cue, Mrs. Sayaki ringed a handheld bell back and forth, signalling the end of kindergarten. Both Bakugo's and Izuku's parents hadn't arrived just yet, so they stayed behind and chatted about whatever that came to mind...which was mostly All-Might related anyways.

All Might, the 'Symbol of Peace', was a source of inspiration for many children and teenagers all over Japan, and even in foreign countries. A muscled behemoth of a man, he was capable of superhuman strength and speed, but to an extreme degree, to say the least. Not only unbeatable in the field, he also possessed a righteous heart, heavily emphasising the importance of citizen safety above all else. For most pro heroes, fending off villains while protecting people who couldn't help themselves would be a tough feat, but All Might had no issues.

His debut had garnered national attention, with the man single-handedly saving close to a 100 people from countless burning buildings on the brink of collapsing within ten minutes, and arresting the criminal responsible for the outbreak of flames around the city within the next five.

His signature smile and laughter while saving the victims, coupled along with his iconic " **I am here!** ", was essentially the perfect debut to his career. Expectedly, his popularity had skyrocketed as he carried out more heroic deeds with the same smile on his face wherever he went. Even now, his hero track record was virtually flawless, as he apprehended every single villain whenever he was involved, and heavy injuries being the worst of citizen casualties.

Izuku in particular had a lot to boast about his All Might figurine collection, although Bakugo was insistent that his was leagues above Izuku's. One thing led to another, and eventually the topic of their future was brought up once again.

"As I was saying earlier, I'm gonna become stronger than All Might and overtake him for the number one hero when I grow up!" Bakugo proclaimed with confidence.

"You want to become stronger than All Might? You've gotta be kidding, All Might's way too strong..." Izuku muttered, in slight shock.

"Come on, you think that when All Might was a kid, there wasn't a number one superhero that seemed impossible to beat? All Might must've wanted to beat that guy, that's why he trained so hard to become number one! This time, it'll be me surpassing All Might!" Bakugo proudly stated, with a glint in his eye.

"That's so cool..." These words left Izuku's mouth without him realising, and quickly clasped his mouth, thinking that he had said something inappropriate.

However, Bakugo merely snickered. "So, if you wanna be a hero, you've gotta prepare and train from the start. Izuku, was it? What have you done to prepare to become a hero?"

"Well, I've actually wanted to start writing notes about heroes. All Might's super strong, but he's smart too! He knows how to save everyone in the shortest amount of time, and even how to fight against quirks he has never seen before. I wanna start looking at other heroes' quirks and writing them down, to practice my thinking skills! But I haven't learned how to write very well..." Izuku ended off with a small frown.

The blonde was totally caught off guard. He wasn't expecting such an answer, his line of thinking was more like…

"So other than that, how much training have you done? How strong are you?" Bakugo inquired.

"H-huh?"

"C'mon, like running fast, punching hard, of course you've gotta train for these things!" Bakugo remarked, like it was obvious. And it was, what kind of hero wasn't fit? If Izuku had thought that far ahead, he should've at least thought about this, right?

"I've really n-never thought about it..." was all Izuku could say back to the blonde.

"R-really?" Bakugo stammered, not expecting such a response.

After a few seconds of awkward silence and head scratching, Bakugo spoke up, "Hey, that just means we have to help each other! You teach me about all you've learned about heroes and quirks, and I'll tell you about all the exercises I do! We could even train and study together. It'll be awesome!" Bakugo excitedly pumped a fist in the air.

"R-r-r-really? You'd do that for me?" Izuku looked at the blonde with a wide smile growing on his face.

"Well, you're helping me too, it's a fair trade." Bakugo replied drily.

"So, a-are we f-friends now?" Izuku shily mumbled.

"Yeah dude, we're gonna be the best heroes ever! But I'm still gonna be number one, don't forget that." Bakugo replied with a condescending smirk on his face, but Izuku couldn't care less.

He had finally made his first friend!

A tear was shed, but Izuku rubbed it away as soon as it formed, not wanting to ruin the moment.

"We've gotta tell our moms! Are they here yet?" barked the overly ecstatic Izuku.

"Kids, your moms have been waiting outside for the past 5 minutes. I tried to tell you earlier, but you both weren't listening. I've been waiting this whole time." Mrs. Sayaki finally interjected.

Izuku and Bakugo scurried over to the entrance and peered over the corner. Just as the caretaker said, Izuku spotted her mother talking with another woman.

Izuku immediately stiffened up, profusely bowing and apologising for taking up the caretaker's time, while Bakugo tilted his head in confusion, wondering if there was really anything to apologise for.

Izuku and Bakugo exited with haste, the former being extremely apologetic and flustered that he wasted the caretaker's time, while the latter simply being indifferent to their 'mistake'. In spite of this, both parties couldn't wait to break the news to their parents, figuratively drooling at the thought of training to become a better hero.

Izuku had been the first to act, rushing towards his mother, Inko Midoriya, like his life depended on it. The older Midoriya had not expected this, but there was enough time to spread her arms open, bracing for impact of a little green-haired rocket.

Inko gleefully embraced her child upon collision, and while grabbing his waist, carried him through the air as she twirled in a circular motion. There were smiles present on both faces, each overjoyed to see the person they loved to the ends of the earth once again, even if it was only for about a third of the day.

"Mommy, I got a new friend, his name's Katsuki Bakugo!" Izuku exclaimed, being so excited he could barely sit still. Excitement was something he felt a lot of today. "We both wanna be heroes, can we train after school?"

Inko Midoriya had her doubts, she was always a worrisome mother, but the face that Izuku wore, beaming with an unexpected determination melted her concerns almost instantly.. What kind of mother would deny their child of something they felt so strongly towards, especially her little Izuku who was such a precious little soul? Still, she had to be the responsible party.

"Of course, my baby, but make sure to stay safe, alright? Heroes don't injure themselves while training, so you have to promise me to be careful." Inko replied after weighing the pros and cons, telling a white lie in a process.

Izuku nodded with a smile, "Sure, Mommy, I'll be really careful."

"Good, that's my baby boy." Inko said with a satisfied grin, putting down Izuku gently onto the pavement.

"Oh, is this your kid, Inko? He looks so cute and adorable!" A foreign feminine, voice spoke up, alerting Izuku of her presence. Her kind smile suddenly turned into a scowl. "Unlike Katsuki."

"Ah, go-good evening Auntie. My name is Izuku Midoriya!" Izuku bowed, remembering her mother's reminder to greet any adult properly during their first encounter.

"Ahhh, he's polite to boot! You've got such a wonderful child, Inko!" The woman gushed, nudging Inko's shoulder teasingly. Izuku took this as a cue to raise his head back up again.

Observing the woman's features, it was clear that she was most likely Bakugo's parent. They had the same ash blonde, spiky hair, and the same confident grin on her face that Bakugo had when he was introducing himself.

Bending down slightly, the woman flashed a soft smile. "Well, Izuku dear, My name's Mitsuki Bakugo, and if you haven't guessed, I'm Katsuki's mother. It's great that Katsuki's got himself a friend so soon, but he can be quite a handful though, just so you know."

"That's not true Auntie, he was really nice to me just now!" Izuku commented back, surprising both mothers.

"Alright, I'll take your word for it." Mitsuki placated, knowing that Izuku would realise the truth sooner or later. Still, it warmed her heart to find out that someone already thought highly of her kid, and a small grin soon followed. "So what's this about training I hear?" Mitsuki inquired, causing Izuku to anxiously fiddle his thumbs, but before he could panic and fumble over his words, Izuku heard hurried footsteps from behind him.

"Mom, it's simple! He can come over to our house after school, and we'll exercise together!" Bakugo exclaimed while dashing over, stopping in front of his mother. "In fact, he should come over toda-"

"KatsukiI! Greet Mrs. Midoriya first!" Bakugo's mother smacked Bakugo's head furiously, and an audible smack reverberated. "Didn't I teach you to greet your elders before anyone else?"

"Don't hit me so hard mom!" Bakugo raised his two palms defensively, his early mood turning sour. The Midoriyas sweatdropped at this...unusual exchange, unsure of what to make of it.

"Don't you talk back to me you brat! You know you're in the wrong, hurry and introduce yourself!" was all Bakugo received, along with another harder smack to the head. Bakugo cringed in pain, his anger dissipating.

"I'm Bakugo. Katsuki Bakugo. Hello Izuku's mom." Katsuki muttered sheepishly after a few seconds, with the pain from the previous two smacks lingering on his head.

"Sorry about that, I keep trying to teach him manners, but he ignores them half of the time." Mitsuki sighed in exasperation.

"It's quite alright, and Katsuki, you can call me Auntie." Inko introduced herself to the toddler, before facing the other adult in the conversation.

"More importantly Mitsuki, about this training, would it be alright if they had it at your place? I'm afraid our apartment isn't the most spacious…" Inko placed her hand on her cheek as she recalled the size of said living quarters.

"Of course Inko, I'd be delighted to host this training of theirs. Don't worry, me and Masaru will keep watch on them." Mitsuki gave Inko a giant thumbs up, easing her anxiety somewhat. "He can come over everyday if he wants, and we could catch up in the meantime. We haven't seen each other since college!" Nostalgia seeped in as the two adults recalled their previous antics.

"Is tomorrow fine with you?" Mitsuki asked, addressing Izuku.

His eyes now had a bright sheen in them. "Yes Auntie Mitsuki!"

With that, the two families announced their goodbyes started heading home as well. On the way back, Izuku told his mother about everything that happened during the day, mainly the conversation he had with Bakugo.

Although the other kids' blatant discrimination towards Izuku angered Inko, hearing how ecstatic Izuku was talking about Bakugo made her more than happy. Perhaps this was the start of a great friendship that would span on for many years to come, but even if it wasn't, the especially wide smile on Izuku's face was enough to momentarily wash all of Inko's worries away.

From Izuku's one-sided rant(not that Inko minded in the slightest), Inko could gather that he was going to prepare notes on many different heroes. Izuku was exceptionally intelligent for his young age, but even she couldn't predict that he had been observing various quirks while he was watching videos on the family computer. If anything, she thought it was entertaining for the freckled child.

She had absolute faith that Izuku was going to become an amazing pro hero in the future, and now that he actually wanted to improve his fitness, Izuku would need all the support that she could offer.

"Izuku, my dear, we're having katsudon for dinner later. What else would you like?" Inko looked down towards her energetic child. She could start off by pampering him with his favourite meal, right?

"Yay! Thanks Mommy, I want scrambled eggs too please!" The child replied, already salivating at the thought of eating his favourite dish. His mom was a cooking goddess after all.

"Of course dear, meanwhile, you could start preparing the things you want to bring to Bakugo's house tomorrow. I have a bunch of notebooks and pens in my room, you can go get them later." Inko noted. "I'll help you pack a set of clothes for you to change in Bakugo's house tomorrow too."

With that said, they finally reached their apartment. Inko began working on dinner, and Izuku eagerly rushed the halls to his mother's room to obtain the mentioned supplies. He was going to go all out to impress his new friend the next day. Finding what he needed, Izuku grabbed the overflowing pile of study material he gathered and went to his room to start his preparations.

* * *

Bakugo was a genius, there was no doubt about it. He was faster, stronger, and smarter than anyone he played with. No matter the activity, he came out on top. Everyone praised him for his endless wins, and Izuku couldn't help but do the same in his thoughts. It was just so inspiring to him, seeing his only friend win the daily house building competition with an eager smile on his face.(which Izuku chose to stay out of to prepare for later).

Yet, with all those feelings of admiration, came a numbing load of self-deprecation. Bakugo, in Izuku's eyes, was already like all the pro heroes he admired, oozing with confidence wherever he went. With that attitude, he was sure to become a hero high up in the charts. How could his wimpy and scrawny self even compare? Not even taking future quirks into account, he was already a weirdo, at least, according to everyone around him.

' _No, Mom said those thoughts are bad. If All Might was me, he'd do something about it. He'd prove everyone wrong by working hard!_ '

Being on par with Bakugo seemed like an insurmountable task as of now, but Izuku'd be damned if he wasn't going to try! He was going to beat this villain known as 'self-doubt', so he could proudly call himself Bakugo's pal!

Time flew by quickly, and it was time for the kids to leave. Children and parents alike walked home, with numerous conversations between parent and child about what had happened during the day.

Izuku couldn't help but notice that the name 'Bakugo' had been said more times than he could count.

"Hey Izuku, hurry up! Heroes can't sit around wasting their time." Bakugo yelled across the room, catching Izuku by surprise, getting his attention. Izuku hurriedly followed Bakugo after grabbing his backpack, where he saw both his own mother and Bakugo's. Inko had agreed to accompany the three of them to Mitsuki's house for a week, until Izuku got used to it, and it would just be the three of them afterwards.

"Come on, my house is this way, hurry up, let's go!" Bakugo exclaimed, pointing to the correct direction.

"Don't rush Mrs. Midoriya!"

Izuku had only blinked, and Bakugo was face flat on the floor, twitching in pain, forming a tiny crater on the floor, courtesy of a lethal smack to the head by his mother. Izuku paled, taking note to never anger Bakugo's mother under any circumstances.

"I-it's fine Mitsuki, it's not a problem, we could match our kids' energy." Inko said, trying to defuse the situation.

"It's not that I don't believe that we can't catch up if they start running ahead, it's that this little brat," Mitsuki paused, grabbing Bakugo's ear and pulling him back up. "should learn how to treat adults with proper respect. I'm sorry for his behaviour, Inko."

"Like I said, it's fine with me. More importantly, i-is little Katsuki fine?" Inko asked, with increasing worry in her voice. For all the wonderful things that her friend was, she never understood her parenting methods.

"He'll be fine, he's gone through worse. Now, let's get a move on. I'll have to prepare an extra large dinner for the five of us." Mitsuki said, dragging a seemingly lifeless Bakugo along.

Putting aside absolute fear of Bakugo's mother aside, Izuku wondered about Bakugo's dad, the most likely contender for the fifth guest during dinner. Would he match Mitsuki's nature as well? Izuku felt a creeping shiver up his spine just thinking about the terrifying image.

After a few more minutes of walking, they had arrived at Bakugo's house. By this point, Bakugo had woken up, much to the delight of Izuku. However, at the time, Bakugo was cautious of talking, fearing that he might say something inappropriate, resulting in another lethal knock-out.

Hence, it was only after Izuku and Bakugo reached the personal fitness room in the Bakugo household, did Bakugo want to talk, while the two mothers worked together to make dinner together.

The Bakugo family was more well-off than the Midoriyas, owning a full-fledged house instead of just an apartment room, and they designated one room for exercising purposes for the whole family. Furthermore, Bakugo even had a corner dedicated for him, with equipment catered for a four year old.

"Wow, do you use all of these to train? That's so cool!" Izuku darted all around the 'Katsuki Corner' as he inspected each equipment, stopping at the dumbbell rack. Curiously, he picked up a weight of 500g...only for his hands to plummet down immediately, almost touching the ground. It took all of his might to even stay standing. Chuckling to himself, Bakugo went to Izuku's side and together, they lifted the dumbbell to its original position.

"Th-thanks." Izuku said as he wiped a sweat off his brow. "You're really strong Bakugo, you could have carried that easily all by yourself!"

"Of course, I'm the future number one hero after all!" The blonde child turned to his admirer. "Don't worry Izuku, I'll help you get stronger so you can become as great as me! Are you ready?"

"Yeah!" Izuku pumped a fist into the air excitedly.

After some consideration about Izuku's well-being, Bakugo came up with a simple regime, consisting of jumping jacks, push-ups, cardio(on a child-sized treadmill), all with strap-on weights. After they both got out of their kindergarten uniforms, they started the routine.

After the first two sets of jumping jacks, it had already been clear to Izuku the astounding difference between him and Bakugo. He struggled to keep up with every exercise, even while using considerably lighter weights.

At the end of the training, Izuku was sweating buckets, desperately gasping for air like he hadn't breathed for the last fifteen minutes. His muscles cried out in pain, and Izuku himself was very close to doing so as well. Meanwhile, Bakugo only worked up a light sweat, and although panting for air as well, was definitely in much better shape than Izuku. By the time Izuku had caught his breath and calmed down, it had already been twenty minutes since the start of the training.

"Okay, maaaaybe I overdid it with the training." commented Bakugo as he looked over to Izuku's, for lack of better words, delirious state.

"Yeah." was all Izuku could say back, still trying to comprehend the absolute torture he had went through. Using the walls as support, Izuku retrieved his water bottle from his backpack. Opening the cap and drinking, Izuku's entire body relaxed as he gulped down the cold liquid.

"Could we just get to studying? I've got some stuff prepared." Izuku breathed, placing the water bottle next to his backpack.

"Sure, what'd you bring?" Bakugo peeked over Izuku's shoulder as he dug out a certain notebook.

"My Hero Analysis for the Future, Volume 1!" Izuku proudly declared as he placed it on the floor in front of his peer. Bakugo flipped open to the first page, to be greeted with a title ' _Information on Pro Heroes_ '. Moving on, he stumbled upon an impressive image of Endeavor.

"Dude, Endeavor looks so freaking cool in this!" Besides the sketch of the pro hero on the left-hand page, he also noticed many annotations. Some of them were lame, like a line pointing to the flame hero's face, commenting 'Scary!', but there were some useful notes too. "I didn't know Endeavor's flame moustache could be extinguished at any time, I thought it was just a side effect of his quirk!"

"Yup, he said once that he ignites flames at those places just to scare villains!" Izuku gestured towards the flames on Endeavor's body.

"When he'd say that?" Bakugo tilted his head sideways, causing Izuku to panic.

"Ah, erm, uh...in one of his interviews." Izuku slumped with worry, would Bakugo now think that he was weird? Creepy? Maybe he shouldn't have written that down…

"Ehh, you really listen to those?" There it was, the creepy look that everyone would give him-wait what? Izuku was looking at a face of amazement? "Dude, those are always so boring, but I guess you can learn some pretty cool stuff after all!"

Izuku hadn't been expecting that, people always waved him off as a weirdo whenever he talked about the interviews. Another comment from Bakugo brought his attention back into their session. "And his suit regulates his body temperature, huh? And if he gets dangerously hot, it even notifies him? Wow, that's a useful hero costume! Did you really do these notes all by yourself?"

"No no no, my mom helped me with the writing! I just did the sketching and told her what to write, if anything, she's basically the one who made these notes."

"Dude, don't sell yourself short! Not even I know these stuff, and I thought I was pretty smart!"

That brought a genuine smile to Izuku's face, someone from his age group was actually complimenting him!

"Who's this? Bulldozer?" Bakugo was at the next pro hero, the muscular man in the picture, with his hero costume consisting of a heavyweight armor, and a headgear that resembled a crane, it seemed as if this man had an infinity for construction equipment. The most distinctive feature of Bulldozer though, was his arms, his hands replaced with curved metal plates, which would be an obvious relation to the giant front blade on a bulldozer. "Oh, I think I've seen him once or twice…"

"Yeah, his hero office is here in Mustafu, and he's a rescue hero!" Izuku explained, before prompting Bakugo to read the note on the right hand page that he(or his mother) made, which the blonde obliged to.

' _ **Metal Arms allows Bulldozer to revert his arms to any tool he wants, and it will be made out of strong iron. However, the larger the tool, the softer the metal becomes. If he uses a tool for too long, the metal will get softer that way too. Finally, his tools rust when the tool is under too much stress, and he will have to concentrate to form another replacement tool.**_ '

"Why's he a rescue hero though? Sounds like he can make some awesome swords or something with that quirk!" Bakugo questioned.

"Well, some villains are strong enough to destroy any tool he makes, so he stays away from villain encounters. But with the vast amounts of tools he can create, he can do stuff like clearing out debris to save people, picking locks to open locked doors, and he can take his time to create a new tool in case one rusts!" Izuku retorted with starry eyes, he just loved talking about heroes!

"Wow Izuku, you really know your stuff, huh…" Bakugo replied, slowly taking in the information of the neighbourhood hero. And indeed, what Izuku just mentioned was in his notes and annotations, along with other details that Bakugo hadn't thought of.

"It's nothing really, I still can't write Kanji very well...I wanted to mention more, but Mommy seemed tired, so I shortened the notes..." Izuku sulked, causing Bakugo to become wide-mouthed. All this was the shortened version?

Clearing his throat, Bakugo offered a proposal, "I could help you write your notes, just come over and we can work on them after exercising!"

"R-really?"T-that'd be great, thanks Bakugo!"

"You know what, seeing as how I've been calling you by your first name, I think you can start calling me by mine." Katsuki added, deciding that Izuku was fit to call the future number one hero by his first name.

"Alright, Kacchan!" Izuku said excitedly.

"K-Kacchan?" Bakugo questioned, with slight bewilderment. "My first name's Katsuki, you know."

"But Kacchan just sounds nicer to me. I know! You can call me 'Izu-chan' then".

"Nah, it's fine, you can call me Kacchan, I'll just stick with Izuku." Bakugo dismissed, but actually a little excited that he got a nickname. Not that he was friend-deprived like Izuku, but no one ever addressed him by a nickname before. He felt a little childish glee after hearing the nickname Izuku gave him. It was nice.

"Okay, Kacchan, do you wanna continue looking at other heroes' information?" Izuku prompted, breaking Bakugo out of his stupor.

Bakugo nodded immediately, "Sure!"

* * *

Long after the sun had set, the two headed off into Bakugo's room. Izuku's heart was full of pride at this point, it had been so long since he could express his 'hero-nerd' self to someone else other than his mom, it brought forth a type of happiness he didn't think he needed until now.

"You know Izuku, it's a breath of fresh air talking with you. I mean, everyone else is fine and all, but they're kinda...slow? With you, I don't have to dumb things down, you're pretty smart." Bakugo said as he reached for the door knob.

Hearing that only amplified the positive feeling even more, Izuku felt his face flush up with joy as the widest grin grew on his face. "Thanks Kacchan, that really means a lot!"

Katsuki blinked as he looked back at the bright sparkles emanating from his suddenly bubbly friend. Where did that come from?

"Alright," Katsuki decided not to question it. "Time to show you my superior All Might collection! Prepare yourself, Izuku!" Bakugo announced exaggeratingly before swinging open the door, raising Izuku's expectations in the process.

"Kacchan, the lights aren't on…" Izuku's anticipation instantly died down, trying to make out glimpses of the room from the minimal light shining in from the hallway..

"Sh-shut up! I knew that!" A blush made its way onto Bakugo's face. Izuku couldn't resist the urge to chuckle, which embarrassing Bakugo even further.

Coming back with a pole from the living room, Bakugo flipped the light switch, allowing Izuku to take in the room in its glory. Authentic All Might memorabilia in the forms of posters, figurines, clothes, even the overpriced ones that his mother couldn't afford. Bed sheets, bolsters and pillow cases featured All Might in various 'heroic' poses, along jagged speech bubbles with words like 'Pow!' or 'Bam!'. An entire room of heroic red, blue and yellow, all at his disposal for his viewing pleasure! It was perfect! Too perfect...

"What did I tell you, and you didn't believe me when I said I had the better collection! Bwahaha!...Wait, IZUKU?"

From that day on, both families banned Izuku from ever entering Bakugo's room, at least until he grew out of his admiration for All Might, or he black out from immense excitement again.

* * *

 **And that's it. Hello everyone, this is my AU to the MHA universe, where there are two main differences. One, I plan for Katsuki and Izuku to have a great relationship, and a friendly rivalry as they grow up.**

 **Might sound boring, but I'll try to make sure Bakugo remains the badass self he is, while Izuku still remains to be the cinnamon roll we all know and love.**

 **Secondly, Izuku will have a quirk, and after thinking, I have decided that he will not be getting One for All in the future. The timeline will be different, and I may not even write about the encounter with the slime villain. Right now, I want to focus on getting the AU built up first, and I will alter Canon events as necessary.**

 **If you have any feedback, I'd be glad to read them.**

 **See you all in the next chapter! Please leave a review to tell me what you think!**

* * *

 **Readers who are reading the Rewrite-Section**

 **And for those who came for the rewritten Chapter 1, I hope this satisfies you! I'm happy as to how this turned out, but I did take out certain details that might've appealed to some, like the whole 'Bulldozer' portion.**

 **Leave a review to tell me what you think!**


	2. Quirky Dispute

**Four Months Later**

* * *

The noisy ringing of the recess bell pulled Izuku's attention away from his books. Hearing this, many children shuffled out of the lesson room and made their way towards the playground outside. Ever since Bakugo joined, he managed to rally more and more people to play outside, as compared to when most would rather just stay inside and fiddle with various toys. His charisma was inspiring, and the shared enthusiasm when everyone played was enough proof of that.

Izuku got up with a hop, heading out with about 12 of his peers while holding his hero books. Watching everyone play was enough for him, he'd just work on a few more sketches at the side if nothing interesting was going on. Besides, he'd get to see some of his classmates' quirks in action! Turns out the teachers were quite neglectful when it came to quirk usage, if only giving them a few warnings if things got out of hand. The lack of adult supervision was a bit unnerving for Izuku, but the prospect of observing quirks put the worry to rest.

Izuku picked up Kanji fairly easily with the help of his mom, the kindergarten tutors, and the Bakugo family. With his new skill, he wrote religiously in his hero journals, which led the boy to end up with three books filled with hero-quirk content. Plus, he was just starting out on writing notes on his classmates too!

Izuku took his seat under the comforting shade of a large tree nearby, and took out his 'Classmate Quirk Observation' journal. So far, 8 of the children had quirks, 3 of which were outside with the rest. Coincidentally, Izuku hadn't taken notes on those three, so he whipped out his writing utensils and got to work.

 **{Classmate Quirk Observation}**

 **Akinari**

 **Quirk: Lubricant**

 _His quirk allows him to secrete a slippery substance from his arms and feet that stings a lot! If he can sneak up on villains, or put his lubricant in a special water gun, he could do some serious damage! He can also slide around with his quirk, kinda like ice skating, but he can't control it that well right now. But he's using his time when playing games to improve, so good for him!_

 _P.S: He's a huge meanie though, when the teachers aren't looking, he uses his quirk to hurt those who he doesn't like! I hope he changes if he wants to become a hero..._

 **Kira**

 **Quirk: Dragon Wings**

 _He has huge, red wings that he can use fly around with! He can't go that fast right now, but I'm sure he'll improve with time! There's so much he can do, like…_

* * *

"Yet another win for Bakugo the Great!" Bakugo declared as he crossed the stick that marked the finish line. He watched as his competitors that were still lagging behind eventually completed the 'Quirk Race', who all sung high praises for the blonde. He snickered as he soaked up the numerous compliments, mentally patting himself on the back. The attention was so pleasantly addictive, Bakugo couldn't help himself.

He looked over to the navy blue-haired kid sulking along with the fat kid with wings, and the guy who could make his fingers longer. Even though he lost, his supporters still attempted to comfort him with meaningless reassurances. Pathetic. Those three were the only ones out of the bunch with quirks, and Bakugo still won. One of them literally had wings, how did he lose in a race?

Really, why couldn't they be more like Izuku? He was weak at first, sure, but at least he's taking a real step towards his goal and working hard. Unlike the three losers, who usually lazed around all the time. If it weren't for Izuku, Bakugo may have been goaded into a false sense of security that his blessed level of fitness was sufficient. However, Izuku grounded him to the reality that hard work was what mattered the most, evidenced by his steadily increasing fitness level. If Bakugo slacked off, he'd be left in the dust by the hard worker, and he wasn't going to let that happen anytime soon.

Unconsciously, Bakugo eyed Izuku as he scribbled away in his notebook with unparalleled excitement. He was always such a geek when quirks were involved, so much so that he didn't even want to play with everyone else, preferring to jot notes instead. That bad habit had to go sooner or later.

"Alright, first place is obviously me, second is Flying Fatty and Third is Slippy." Bakugo flaunted as he turned back to everyone else. "Let's go play our next game!" With a cheer and a pumped fist, the crowd unanimously agreed to continue their games. They huddled up together to plan the next activity, leaving behind a group of three.

Akinari ruffled his blue hair in annoyance, "That stupid Bakugo! Just because he can run a _little_ faster, he thinks he can act high and mighty."

Red wings sprouted from the chubby kid named Kira beside him, "Yeah, what's so special about him? I'd definitely kick his butt if I had more practice with flying."

"Eichi and the others used to play with us, but now they're just hanging around Bakugo. This sucks." Yubi, or 'Fingers', as Bakugo liked to call him, sighed in defeat.

Akinari remained motionless as he stared at his cool new shoes, shiny golden with silver lines running along at the sides, custom made so he could secrete his lubricant from his feet through its many holes on the bottom. It was a gift from his dad who took his favourite colours in mind when purchasing the footwear. He was told that he was going to accomplish great things.

So why? Why was this random kid stealing all of his friends, when he didn't even have a quirk yet? Before Akinari knew it, he was gritting his teeth hard. He'd have to prove his superiority to everyone watching, one way or another.

A malicious smile took the place of his previous frown, as Akinari tugged at two shirts beside him for attention. "Hey guys, why don't we teach Bakugo a little lesson?"

* * *

 **Yubi**

 **Quirk: Finger Growth**

 _This quirk is pretty cool, Yubi can extend his fingers to about a metre long, and he can grip things super hard because of it. If he wears protective gear on his arms, he can totally grab a villain to stop him from moving! If he trains his body, he may even be able to lift up his enemies!_

 _P.S Just like Kira, he sticks around Akinari a lot. I hope he doesn't end up as a sidekick, he has real potential for a Pro hero!_

"So Bakugo, what game should we play next?" someone asked.

"I'm bored already, hurry up and pick!"

"Hold on, let me think of something…" Bakugo trailed off as he rubbed his chin in deep thought, trying to ignore the incessant buzzing of discussions around him.

"How about Heroes vs Villains?"

In that one offer, everyone stopped to look at Akanari and his two pals backing him up. Their undivided attention was a side benefit of having a quirk earlier than others, after all. He took the silence and staring as a signal to continue. "It's been so long since we played it! Us three will be the heroes versus the Villain Bakugo!"

The rest let out their respective breaths that they'd been holding, but Bakugo was less than pleased. "What? How's that fair? Three quirks against none?"

"Oh?" Akanari inched closer to the blonde. "Sounds to me like you're just scared, you wimp!"

Bakugo scoffed in denial. "As if I'd be scared from a game like this! Bring it on!" He got into the best fighting stance he could think of, and the crowd cheered yet again. "Not like quirks like those could beat me anyways."

Those words, and that stupid smirk. That was the last straw. "Let's see about that, you overconfident jerk!" With that, all three 'heroes' charged towards the 'villain', all while yelling an unnecessary battle cry.

A worried expression made its way on Izuku's face. He always hated Heroes vs Villains, it was the most violent, and not to mention redundant, they weren't heroes nor villains, just kids. It was a toxic popularity contest, and the loser would be heavily belittled. Izuku was glad that he talked Bakugo out of hosting these games ever again, but the negativity was all coming back now. He rushed over to the fight as quickly as he possibly could.

Bakugo had little issue dodging and weaving past their futile attempts. Every punch that Akanari and Kira tried to unleash on the boy was slow with little power. It was really just Fingers in the background trying to grab hold of him that was a concern, otherwise, he could do this all day. But he was already getting bored, they really were all bark, no bite, so it was about time he showed them who's boss.

As Akanari let out another weak jab aimed at Bakugo's face, he grabbed the forearm with his left hand, and shot his knee right into Akanari's stomach. The blue-haired aggressor reeled back clutching the soft spot, but Bakugo didn't let up. Running up, with a show of impressive flexibility, he kicked the kid straight in the face, which led to his quick collapse. Manic smile still intact, Bakugo tried to continue his assault, but stopped just in time to prevent being squashed under the body weight of the landing Flying Fatty.

He moved away from the fingers still futilely attempting to try and constrict him, and pummeled down on his winged opponent, who used said wings as a shield. With every hit, Kira's defence was crumbling due to the pain. Moments later, he spread his wings out, and Bakugo took that chance to lunge in with a reared right arm. Only for that arm to be held back by a frightened Izuku.

"What are you doing? Let go!" Bakugo said, struggling against Izuku's hold.

"No! You promised me you'd never play this again!"

"They were the ones asking for a fight!" Bakugo's raised voice intimidated Izuku, but he had to get him to stop somehow! But before he could retort, a pair of eerie fingers crawled around Bakugo's midsection, trapping his arms in place in the process. He let out a squeak as he got constricted by the finger quirk user.

"I got him guys!" Yubi exclaimed.

"Yubi, l-let him go!" Izuku desperately cried out, already trying to pry the fingers off Bakugo.

"Nngh...c'mon Izuku, relax. How could us heroes release the villain so easily? He needs to punished…" Yubi smiled grimly. Izuku flinched back, noticing similar looks on the approaching Kira and Akinari, who stopped in front of their captive.

"So, you've caught me. What now-" That was all Bakugo could say before Akanari tossed a large handful of quirk lubricant at Bakugo's face and eyes. Bakugo felt like his entire face was melting off, and was flailing madly from the pain. Any noise from the crowd died down after seeing this, and all the words Izuku wanted to scream out was lodged in his throat. Even Yubi and Kira looked stunned, mouths agape.

"Well well well, seems like the villain has finally fallen. Not so tough now, are you?" Akanari smirked, reveling in the sight of a defeated Bakugo. "Look everyone, Bakugo's lost! I'm better than him!" He held his head high as he turned to everyone. But what he saw was not the starry eyes of praise that he expected, but utter disdain and fearful looks.

Why? He had just beaten the top dog of the kindergarten, why wasn't he getting the attention he deserved?

A low grunt caught his attention. "You can't even beat me alone with you own quirk...this means nothing...you'd make a trash hero." Akinari looked down to the blonde who was putting all his effort into a full fledged glare back at him.

"You...you!"

In a fit of rage, Akinari unleashed the hardest punch he could aimed for Bakugo's face. After seeing that, it was as if time slowed to a halt, and Izuku didn't know what came over him. It was like everything clicked, his body moved on its own. The fist connected didn't connect with Bakugo, but with Izuku's vulnerable nose, sending the boy to the sandy ground. The pain flared up immediately around the area, and Izuku felt something way too sticky to be sweat trickle down his nose. By the time he regained his bearings, he was receiving blow after blow from the boy who could only see red.

He tried to block as best he could, but it hurt. If Izuku had a choice, he'd definitely retract the tears that were leaking from his eyes. It wasn't very hero-like; All Might would never cry like this. But one thing was very clear to him.

He wanted to stop Akinari from hurting anyone else.

That was when a sensation awoke from within Izuku. A very strong one. It kind of felt like all the times he completed a grammatically correct English sentence with Bakugo. Or when he successfully recalled the right value from the '7' multiplication table. But this was on another level. A major understanding of...something flowed throughout his body. Plus, every brain cell in his mind screamed to press on the sensation. And so he did.

From the corners of his eyes while in his curled fetal position(again, not very hero-like), he could tell that the sky above them was darkening. _As it should have._ He proceeded to go on to the next instruction in the two-step understanding he just obtained.

Seconds later, the beat down from Akinari suddenly stopped, as the blue-haired lunatic turned to look above. And the things that Izuku saw filled in the missing gaps. Not too far above the slugfest, emerald thunderclouds cast over the huge playground, and only the cloud directly above them rained down a relentless amount of raindrops.

* * *

Bakugo was livid.

He didn't want to accept these turn of events. He got himself captured by Fingers of all people, and Slippy threw a bunch of slime on his face that hurt like hell. His face was still burning, damn it. Worse of all, however, was the fact that Izuku came to his rescue. He hated fighting down to his very core, if the days he spent trying to convince him not to play this **stupid** game was any indication. Yet, even when he could just as easily stood on the sidelines like the rest of the extras, or even went to go call a teacher, he still took a hit for him, and then some more.

But he couldn't do anything to help his best friend against goddamn Slippy, of all people.

He eyed the fight with numerous blinking to ease the still lingering pain, while struggling against his current predicament. It wasn't working very well though, Slippy and Flying Fatty were doing all they could to hold him down. _Cowards._

"Stop it Akanari! Just stop!" Izuku pleaded more than commanded. It was hard to hear though, over the rushing of rain that honestly sounded like they were standing at the bottom of a waterfall.

' _Idiot, you think he'd really stop after all this?'_

Both of them were drenched from the past minute of rain, and by the looks of it, the rapid, blurry sight of raindrops was doing a number on Akanari. But it appeared that Izuku couldn't last much longer either, his eyes were slowly closing…

Bakugo twitched when Izuku got hit a little too hard for his already minimal patience.

"Ow!"

A yelp from behind caught his attention. Bakugo turned to see Fingers looking right back at him like he just offended him, which was all kinds of wrong in this scenario. Bakugo was about to lash out a millionth time, when he realised that Fingers was shivering, more so on his left arm. He traced the his captor's arm back to his gigantic fingers gripping him less tightly than before. That's when he realised that his own left hand, no, _palm,_ felt very warm. Unnaturally so.

It didn't take long for the spiky blonde to spark off a satisfying explosion, causing Yubi to unhand him. He inspected the wet surface of his palms, of which sweat glands overloaded from being separated from the cold air for the past five minutes or so. On his command, his palms blew up in his face, literally, causing a hefty billow of smoke to cover his entire form.

' _This...it's like dad's quirk, but stronger?_ ' Bakugo wondered, as sparks ignited in his hands. ' _Are these...explosions?_ '

When the smoke cleared, Bakugo's curious expression was no more, replaces by one full of ferocity. He was back to his usual self, fiercely competitive but always smiling. Only this time, his win condition was just a tiny bit different. Make the three of them wish they were never born.

Bakugo spun on his heel and closed the short distance between him and the dazed pair. They couldn't retaliate in time to defend against the flurry of explosions that was unleashed on them. The blasts were unconcentrated, and the recoils of the explosions honestly made Bakugo feel silly, as he had to reposition his palms regularly, but what mattered was that those who opposed him got what they deserved. By the end of his rampage, Yubi and Kira had various scorch marks everywhere, and either fainted on the spot or cowered in fear of the explosion boy.

Izuku's dried and swollen eyes threatened to moisten once again, he didn't want his best buddy to hurt the defenseless. Sure, they started this whole disaster, but that didn't warrant a trashing of that kind. His green eyes could only capture one last scene of Bakugo screaming 'GO TO HELL!" while charging at Akanari, while the caretakers finally ran over to intervene, before his consciousness faded completely.

* * *

The first thing Izuku saw when he woke up was a very plain, white ceiling, which didn't match the kindergarten's ceiling at all. He also felt very lethargic, only being able to move his fingertips before the blood started flowing again. His throat was parched, and he was yearning to have a good glass of water. Taking note of his surrroundings, he was currently rested on a hospital bed, with an IV drip connecting to his arm.

Naturally, the worrisome mother took notice of his movements, who turned to face him instantly. "Izuku, you're finally awake!" Before he knew it, he was in the tight clutches of one Inko Midoriya's arms.

"Mommy...wat-water…" Izuku weakly said as his voice cracked. Inko let go in a panic, and quickly retrieved the glass of cold water by her side. She helped her son up slowly and passed him the cup, which he gladly drank a generous amount of. As the water travelled down his esophagus, Izuku immediately felt revitalised, drinking water had never left him so satisfied before.

"Are you feeling okay Izuku? How are your arms?" The query from his Mother finally made Izuku realise the two bandages covering his two forearms, and felt a stinging sensation and some bruises beneath them. The gears in his head finally started turning as the evens during recess started coming back to him.

"Yeah, I'm okay Mom." Izuku replied. With that one sentence, the tension in Inko's shoulders loosened, and she leaned back into her seat with a satisfied sigh.

"Sorry mom, I did something bad during school today." Izuku suddenly couldn't meet his mother's eyes, mood plummeting to an all time low. Inko simply stared back at Izuku in disbelief. "Kacchan got into a fight with Akinari and the others, and Akinari used his quirk on him. I tried to stop him, and he started hitting me instead. And I used m-my qui-quirk on him." Inko was listening intently, when she heard sobbing in the room. "H-he looked like he was in a lot of pain...I tried to stop, but the rain just kept on going."

Inko felt her tear ducts act up as she hugged her believed son once again. After all the suffering that the child of those irresponsible parents unleashed on her son. The misguided and jealous child that became violent for such a petty reason. All that, and her innocent child was still concerned over not his own well-being, but the well-being of his assailant. He felt remorseful for fighting back.

"Oh sweetie, you did absolutely nothing wrong. You protected your friend from a bully, and you just fought back when he attacked you, it's fine if you used your quirk. You're growing up to be a great hero Izuku, I just know it!"

Izuku sniffled, as he stopped shaking from guilt. "R-really?"

Inko pulled back and put her hands through Izuku's messy hair lovingly. "Yes sweetie, I'll support you all the way. Plus, I'm sure you can think of some great ways to use your quirk to save others already. You'll be the greatest hero ever, just like All Might!"

Once the aspiring hero heard his mother's support, he retreated back with yet another hug, her warmth putting a big smile on his face. Mother and son stayed in each other's embrace for what seemed like eternity, for no words could express how much Izuku appreciated his mom. She'd always been providing the familial support that he never got from his dad. God forbid she say it explicitly, but Izuku could notice how tired she could get from working, and still maintaining the house. Yet, as long as it was within reason, she took care of him the best could. Bedtime stories, feeding him delicious food, allowing him to watch the All Might debut video even when he tell she disliked it. Just... "Thank you Mommy!"

Izuku would've remained comfortable in Inko's grasp if it weren't for a familiar voice from behind his mother. "Guys, I don't think we should interru-" Not given even a second to plead his case, a brown-haired father was shoved by his wife and son into the ward that housed the Midoriyas, while said wife and son strolled in nonchalantly.

Mitsuki dragged a few chairs for the whole family, and Izuku noted the defeated face that Masaru had. Anyone would feel sympathy for the husband if they knew the Bakugos long enough.

"Good uh-" Izuku looked out the window. "Good evening Auntie Mitsuki, Uncle Masaru, Kaccha-!"

Much to the adults' surprise, albeit a welcome one, and Bakugo's chagrin, Izuku broke into a fit of laughter as soon as he saw the state of his blonde-haired pal. His face was covered with tightly wrapped with bandages except for his eyes, and the annoyance in said eyes was incredibly apparent to all. But the clincher was when Bakugo waved at Izuku with his comically large bandaged hands. At the back of his mind, Izuku was concerned for his friend, but the medical apparel just made him look too funny.

"You look like a mummy!" Izuku held his finger at Bakugo while laughing away.

Bakugo's face heated up. "Sh-shut up! I do not!"

"You totally do!"

Everyone smiled at the back and forth banter between the two children, which continued for a while, until Bakugo finally caved in and crossed his arms. "It's all because of that damn Akinari! I wish I could've blown him up more!" Whack! "Hey, what was that for-" Whack!

"The first one was for cursing, and the second one was for wanting to literally blow someone up. For how smart you are, I can't believe that using a quirk like yours on someone else is wrong."

"You use your glycer-whatever all the time! And Dad uses his when he's nervous!" As if on cue, the hands of both males of the Bakugo family started sparking and popping, although Masaru's only did so when he rubbed his hands.

The matriarch of the explosion quirk user could only facepalm at her son's logic. "That's not even in the same playing field…"

Desperate, Bakugo turned to the other adult. "Auntie Inko, please tell my mom she's wrong!"

Inko suppressed a chuckle as she decided to play along. "Izuku, promise you won't ever use your quirk on others like how Bakugo does, ok?" Bakugo felt his fight leave him when Izuku nodded back madly.

"I know mom! After all, as All Might once said: " Izuku's normal innocent face suddenly morphed into a perfect imitation of the number one hero. "Only villains do that!" Everyone but Bakugo shared another laugh at Izuku's fanaticism, and Bakugo begrudgingly gave up.

The room calmed down right after that, and the adults and children chatted away. On the children's side, it was mainly Bakugo explaining what he found out from the quirk specialist and Izuku bouncing excitedly as he listened. After all, Bakugo could create real, literal explosions from his sweat, which was apparently similar to something called nitroglycerin, derived from the chemical compound of his mother. Actual. Explosions. So many ideas were being thrown around between the two, its versatility already being obvious after a few discussions.

Bakugo listened as Izuku talked about flying with explosions, which actually sounded really freaking amazing by the way. However, he wanted to get this out before he forgot. "Hey Izuku. Thanks, by the way." He waited for Izuku to turn his attention back to him before continuing. "Thanks for helping me out back at kindergarten. Who knows what that damn idiot would have done if you didn't stop him."

Izuku was dumbfounded for a bit, before smiling from ear to ear. "You're welcome Kacchan!"

"But I saved you after okay? So we're even! I don't owe you anything!"

Back with the adults…

"So they're not owning up to their mistake of improper parenting?" Inko felt her anger bubble up to the surface, and her kind expression was cracking. The acts of children this age were almost exclusively influenced by parents, the fault was all theirs, not Akinari's. A terrifying, almost murderous aura emerged from the mother as two junior doctors walked in. There was a pause before the silence was broken.

"Ma-Ma'am? You must be the mother of Midoriya Izuku, correct?" One doctor asked, trembling at the sight of the enraged mother.

"Yes, that's right, is there any issue?" Inko asked, tone completely calm.

"We-well, visiting hours are almost over, and we have to perform a checkup on Midoriya. If-if all goes well, he can be discharged by tomorrow afternoon. E-early afternoon." The young doctor said, his voice cracking when finishing his sentence.

"I see, I trust that you will take care of my dear Izuku?"

The doctor gulped audibly. "Ye-yes Mrs. Midoriya, we'll take utmost care of him."

"Alright, it's about time I get going anyways. I want to have a little...chat with a few parents." Inko walked over to her son, and pat his head once more. "Izuku, please behave and listen to the doctors, okay? I'll be back to pick you up tomorrow morning."

"Y-yes mommy, I-I will."

The mother kissed her son's forehead."That's my baby boy. I love you, sweetheart. Now Mitsuki, should we get going?"

Mitsuki pat herself on the back. She knew how to push her old best friend's buttons, and judging by how everyone in the room was afraid for their lives, she was successful. Even her little brat couldn't help but back off when Inko was approaching him and Izuku. "Sure, let's." The four then headed out the door with Mitsuki between the two cowards in her family and the green mother, and everyone remaining in the hospital room released a sigh they didn't know they were holding.

* * *

"Number 26, please make your way to Room 4. I repeat, Number 26, please make your way to Room 4." The receptionist voiced to those in the waiting room. Izuku tried to compose himself, but the prospect of the examination left him excited to no end. Inko had to grip onto Izuku's hand to prevent him from sprinting towards their designated room. Knocking twice and hearing a prompt to enter, the older Midoriya opened the door of Room 4.

Inside was a spacious, tidy room that Izuku loved immediately. There were various wallpaper at various sections of the room, from waterfalls in a jungle setting, to lakes and oceans full of aquatic life. Izuku liked the sections with greenery better, but seeing such realistic depictions of water in nature was almost just as good. Sitting at a desk by the door was a middle-aged man with a long beard who gestured for the pair to take a seat.

"Good afternoon Mrs. Midoriya and Izuku, I'm Dr. Fuguo, and I'll be your attending Quirk Specialist for today. Ma'am, did you bring your child's birth certificate?"

"Yes, here they are." Inko passed over the laminated document, and the doctor typed in his laptop for a while, already starting to bore Izuku. Polite as he usually was, he still had some semblance of patience in him, which was running out extremely quickly today.

"All done!" Finally, Dr. Fuguo finished his typing session. "Now, according to the form you filled out in the waiting room, Izuku's quirk is water-based?"

Just as Inko opened her mouth to reply, Izuku stole her thunder. "Yep! I can create these green clouds, and rain comes out of them when I want it to!" Izuku almost tried to demonstrate, but a slap on the lap from his mother stopped from doing so. He apologised for interrupting, but the quirk specialist simply waved it off.

"No harm done Izuku, I was just as restless as you when I got my own quirk! Now, follow me so we can test it out." They walked over to a rectangular pool without the water that wasn't deep at all, and with a large drain in the middle of the shape. Dr. Fuguo guided Izuku to walk in, while Inko watched from the sidelines. "Now, could you create those clouds for me?"

Izuku nodded, and focused and summoning a cloud. He had been practicing in the hospital when when there was no one else around, and the results showed. A dark green cloud silently erupted from nowhere, the size of his All Might pencil case, and rain started drizzling down. The pool occupants smiled. "There you go. Now for some experimentation. First off..."

Izuku was plenty satisfied with the tests, being able to find out more about his own quirk, and already thinking of ways to best utilise it. However, one thing bothered him, which he didn't hesitate to ask the professional attending to him, Dr. Fuguo.

"Dr. Fuguo, I thought quirks were hereditary, my mom's quirk is telekinesis, and my dad can breathe fire." Mentioning Izuku's dad had made Inko cringe a little, as Izuku's father barely made time to even see his own child as he worked overseas, much to the dismay of Inko. "Why is my quirk unrelated to my parents'?" Dr Fuguo thought for a while, before taking out a book from a nearby bookshelf, titled 'The Origin of Quirks'.

"The scientific community has not fully discovered the nature of how quirks work. Quirks are mainly hereditary, yes, but there are very rare cases where children like you develop a completely dissimilar quirk than their parents', a mutation, if you will."

Before continuing, Dr Fuguo pointed to the book he held. "Dr. Opinado, the leading scientist on quirks, had published this book. In this book, he theorized that the first generation of quirk users had quirks based on their personalities. Hot-headed people would get fire-based quirks, and the list goes on. For each generation of quirk users, a small bit of genetic information containing information relating to their behaviour, or personality, goes into the part of the brain responsible for developing quirks. There is some evidence supporting this theory as research is being conducted, and it is currently the leading theory of quirk mutations in children."

"Midoriya, does your quirk make you think of your parents? How does it make you feel? Perhaps that would answer your question." Dr Fuguo enquired.

Izuku got to thinking, but nothing except one thing really struck out to him. "When I get scratched up from playing with Kacchan, Mom always cries a lot. Like, a lot. It looks just like rain...just like my quirk! Aha! That's it! Thank you Dr. Fuguo."

Inko was blushing immensely at the fact that her teary nature might've manifested in her only son's quirk and could not be more embarrassed. Thankfully, the professional simply laughed and ended that conversation there.

"No problem Izuku. We're almost done, I have one last question for you. What would you like to name your quirk?"

Izuku's excitement shot back up immediately, and bouncing around his shoulder was an imaginary Kacchan. He could hear his voice screaming in his mind. "It better be a cool name, not something like 'clouds'!" Multiple choices came through one ear and went out the other, until he finally decided on the name of the quirk of a future hero.

Seeing Dr. Fuguo smirk and type in the word and click what was most likely the 'Enter' button, the Midoriyas watched as a piece of paper came out from the printer behind him. "Mrs. Midoriya, this is the official legal Quirk Registry document."

Saying their goodbyes, Izuku and Inko made their way home with in high spirits. Looking down at the paper he just received like it was the Holy Grail, Izuku was dead set on using his quirk to be the best hero ever, along with his best friend.

Quirk Information:

 _User can create dark green clouds that emits water droplets from below, akin to rain. The size, and how fast the water droplets fall can be manipulated at will. However, the user will dehydrate accordingly depending on the size and velocity of water droplets, and also duration of usage of quirk. Possible to create a rumbling sound akin to thunder, and even small bolts of lightning. However, electrical and heat energy of lightning bolt is minimal, and dehydrates user by a significant extent. Finally, a passive effect of the quirk allows the user's body to absorb water more efficiently when consuming it, except for the water from the quirk itself._

Izuku's eyes scanned upwards.

Official Quirk Name: Storm

* * *

 **Aaaaaaand there you guys go. Izuku's quirk, Storm, was one I first thought of as kind of a joke. The Midoriya family's tendency to cry literal fountains of water always got a kick out of me, and I found a way to incorporate it here. Hopefully my explanation makes sense. And I'm also terrible with fight scenes, I don't write very vividly, and I have no experience whatsoever with fighting moves or techniques. Please bear with me, any feedback you leave would be greatly appreciated, and I will try to improve myself. I assure you, I'll read every single review and take them to heart. Also, unless explicitly stated at the start of each section, I will tell the story in third-person perspective.**

 **As of the time I'm writing this, Calling up a Storm has 36 favourites and 69 follows. That's. Insane. I can't thank everyone enough for the support, it really does mean so much to me. I know I'm not the best writer out there, far from it, but if my stories manages to bring a smile on your face, then I'm happy too. With that said, see you next chapter!**

* * *

 **Readers who are reading the Rewrite-Section**

 **Hi guys, hope you like the reworked Akinari hehe. I wanted his character to feel more alive and real, if that makes any sense, and I decided against using the 'Izuku and Bakugo POV' thing. Please tell me what you think by leaving a review, and at this point, most of the rewriting is done! I'm just gonna change Chapter 3's beginning a little, and take out the POV there!**

 **Have a nice day!**


	3. Play!

"Hey Izuku, hurry the hell up!" Bakugo bellowed, banging on the door as he did so.

Currently, the two kids were back at the Bakugo household, and they had just finished their physical conditioning for the day. Over the half a year-or-so of their friendship, Izuku had started to take showers after their workouts at Bakugo's home, so that he wouldn't have to wait till he got home about an hour and a half later to do so. Bakugo had been waiting for Izuku to finish showering, so he could have his turn, and get to practicing his quirk. Izuku had explained that quirks were similar to muscles, the more you use them, the stronger they become. Naturally, this knowledge spurred Bakugo to include quirk training as well into his own regime, not that Izuku minded doing the same.

Due to the nature of his quirk, Izuku had no choice but to train in the bathroom, it was the only place where getting the floor wet was alright. As for Bakugo, he'd practice in the Music Room, once he got the approval from his dad, Masaru Bakugo, to move all the musical equipment to one corner. That way, Bakugo could train to his heart's content, without incurring the wrath of his mom for making too much noise. It was soundproof, after all.

"Sorry Kacchan." Izuku said as he opened the bathroom door. "I was trying to practice using my quirk to shower. I just have to drink a glass of water, and I'll feel hydrated. Sorry again for taking too much time, Kacchan."

"Well, hurry and just get better at it, you won't waste time then." Bakugo advised, before grabbing his favourite All Might towel and his change of clothes, taking Izuku's place in the shower. While waiting, Izuku opened his bag and retrieved a notebook, titled 'Izuku's Quirk Training Diary Vol.1'. Izuku flipped to the first page, reading over the contents he had jotted down so far. For now, it mainly consisted of the analysis from when he had visited Dr. Fuguo the other day.

He recalled to when that appointment had ended, and Dr. Fuguo gave him one last piece of advice. "This session only lasted for an hour, but you have your whole life to learn more about your quirk. Izuku, I'm sure that with your passion towards learning, you'd make a great hero." The last sentence was most likely a courteous formality, to end the session on a good note. Nevertheless, it brought a smile to his face just remembering those words.

Remembering the turn of events at the alleyway, Izuku knew that he had a lot to work on. "That will be the last time I'll let fear get the better of me. All Might never backs down in front of any danger, I need to be like him if I want to save everyone with a smile!"

And to do that, he had to start by learning how to effectively use his quirk.

"Hey Izuku, I'm done, I'm gonna head to training now, stop talking to yourself, you weirdo." Bakugo said, exiting the bathroom and heading to the music room with haste. Izuku fidgeted in embarrassment, before smiling yet again. A year ago, he would have never believed that he would have a friend in kindergarten, and it was still somewhat surreal to him that he was training together with someone his age, his best and only friend. Not that Izuku was complaining, he wouldn't have it any other way.

On that note, Izuku went into the bathroom, stripped himself so that his clothes wouldn't get wet, and locked the door behind him, commencing his training.

* * *

An hour later and the Midoriyas and the Bakugos were at the dinner table. After they finished their meals, which was long before the adults finished theirs, the two kids started talking about their respective training regarding their quirks.

"Man, it's so tiring using my quirk. I'm glad it's so powerful, but honestly, my bones and muscles aren't used to this firepower yet. If I push my limits, I get sore all over from training." Bakugo commented while Izuku hummed in agreement. Izuku had seen what explosions could do from videos on the internet, having a quirk like that was bound to hurt loads.

"Well, it's a quirk fit for the future number one hero. Once I get the hang of it, no villain would even stand a chance, and I'll become number one without a sweat! Well, okay, maybe with a lot of sweat." Bakugo smirked and laughed out loud shortly after at his own joke.

Izuku could only sigh. "Looks like I got the short end of the stick, compared to you. Don't get me wrong, I love my quirk, but it's seriously lacking in power."

"Can you at least put a hole through the ceiling?" Bakugo asked.

Unfortunately for him, Mitsuki did not appreciate that Bakugo was encouraging his friend to cause damage to her roof. A lethal smack to the back of the head later, Bakugo got back up and looked at Izuku again, awaiting his answer.

"No, I can't. It just hurts like those water jets that blast water on you in water parks. I just hope my quirk gets stronger soon." Izuku said discontently, as he thought back to the appointment with Dr. Fuguo, where he mentioned,

 _"Cases of children like you tend to have a weak base strength, as the brain does not build off of your parents' quirks, but creates a new one altogether. Midoriya, keep this in mind."_

His mother's voice brought him back to reality. "Sweetie, it's alright, I know you'll do just great. Quirks need time to develop after all. When I first got my quirk, I had trouble using my quirk to pull objects from 20 centimetres, but now," Inko used her quirk to retrieve a spatula from the kitchen, about four metres away from the dining table, before continuing. "Now I can do this with ease. Personally, I think that being able to shower with your quirk is incredible. We could cut costs with that!" Inko encouraged, while twirling the spatula in her hand.

"...Inko, put the spatula back."

"Of course, sorry Mitsuki." Inko replied, before getting up to do so.

Masaru, Bakugo's dad, decided to speak up. "Children's bodies have to adapt to the new bodily changes that come with developing a quirk, and the rate for this to happen is different for everyone. Midoriya, don't worry."

Izuku was reassured by the words of the adults, and he nodded his head with an appreciative smile, acknowledging their encouragements.

Bakugo, meanwhile, was getting restless. "Hey, I'm the one with the awesome quirk, I feel that the attention is misplaced here." Bakugo said, looking around the dinner table with pride.

"Katsuki, if you keep that bragging up, Izuku's going to overtake you one day. If you're ahead of all the other kids, make sure you stay ahead." Mitsuki commented, with a disapproving frown on a face on her face.

"Don't worry mom, that'd never happen if I'm aiming to be number one." Bakugo replied with surprising conviction, turning to look his mother in the eyes. He wore a face that screamed determination and confidence; that nothing would stop him from becoming the best.

Seeing this, Mitsuki nodded her head with approval, and flashed a small smile at her son, which was admittedly very rare, from Izuku's perspective. "Good that you understand, Katsuki."

Thirty minutes later, it was time for the Midoriyas to leave, and the families said their goodbyes to each other for the day. When Izuku got home, he immediately rushed to the bathroom, and started training with his quirk, conducting some more tests as well. Rigorous as it may be, Izuku didn't care, improving his quirk was the only thing on his mind now. After his training, he gulped down two glasses of water, and went into his room, leaving the door ajar. Sitting at his study table, he took out his training diary from his backpack and got to work. If he had a weak start, that just meant that he would have to work harder than everyone else. He wrote on and on and on, he was on a roll. Before he knew it, his fatigue caught up to him, little Izuku had fallen asleep on his study table.

Inko smiled weakly as she moved Izuku to his bed, and tucked him in. Kissing his forehead before leaving, she made sure to close the door to his room with extra care, lest she woke Izuku from his slumber. She then looked at the custom made, All Might-themed room label that had Izuku's name on it, hanging on the door to Izuku's room.

Now, Inko loved her son with all her heart. She would undoubtedly support Izuku no matter the circumstance, she truly believed that Izuku would accomplish great things if he kept up this pace. Usually, kids would complain and whine when they used their quirk too much, but Izuku pressed on no matter what. If Izuku wanted to commit all his time to becoming a hero, god forbid that she would do anything but support him all the way throughout his journey. However, she had her worries too, as with many things Izuku-related, and the main issue being Izuku's social life.

For the past year, Bakugo was the only friend that Izuku had made, and it said a lot about how Izuku had interacted with everyone else at the kindergarten, and his social skills in general. Imagining Izuku being outcast in the future from everyone in his classes in middle school and high school, it broke the older Midoriya's heart. She was going to have to mention this to Izuku soon, hero-training aside, all she wanted for Izuku was to have a normal childhood. She took out her mobile phone and looked at the time, it was 11.03pm. She was going to have an early start tomorrow, and she would need a good slumber. For now, she placed her troubles aside, and went to her bedroom, falling asleep momentarily.

* * *

It was a brand new day at the kindergarten, and the children had just finished their lessons for the day, giving them free time to play. Izuku took his notebook, and writing materials and headed over to his usual corner. The other kids, at this point, were fine with Izuku's presence. Around a year ago, when Bakugo had just joined the kindergarten, Izuku had also stopped babbling about heroics to everyone, and instead just sat alone at said corner, writing in a notebook. A few kids had asked him to join them in their games, and Izuku did usually oblige, but he would robotically go back to the same corner after every session, as if he was programmed to do so. Over time, the other kids realised that Izuku had wanted to be left alone, and left him to his own devices, or in this case, heap of notebooks.

After a while, Izuku had finished up the last of his notes from the multiple hero interviews he had viewed recently on the family computer. He kept his notebook in his bag, 'Hero Analysis for the Future Vol. 4', and shifted his attention to the kindergartens. Everyone was playing Quirk Tag, with Bakugo and a few others being the catchers. Everyone had such bright smiles on their faces. The game ended with the catchers winning, with Bakugo tagging most of the other children. With a triumphant fist raised in the air, Bakugo laughed heartily, and the rest of the kids followed.

Looking at the kids having fun, Izuku suddenly felt a pang in his heart, and frowned. It was a sensation that he had recently started to feel, a subtle, but slow burn that always seemed to haunt him whenever he watched everyone play without him. Truthfully, it had been bothering Izuku for the past few days, and he didn't even know why he was feeling so down. ' _Why am I feeling this way...I've got everything I want. A great friend like Kacchan, and I'm training hard to achieve what I've always wanted…maybe this will take my mind off things._ ' Izuku thought, as he whipped out his Quirk Training Diary, brainstorming of other ways to apply his quirk.

Out of the corner of his eye, Bakugo glanced at Izuku. He saw the frown on his face, his downcast eyes as he flipped through the pages of his notebook. Seeing this, Bakugo's playful grin settled down into a blank stare. Not that anyone would catch him saying it for as long as he lived, but Bakugo has considered Izuku to be his best friend. Izuku was the first friend he had ever made, he was the only one who showed an equal passion for heroism, and he even helped him back when he was in trouble with Akinari. Now, it was time for Bakugo to help his friend overcome the loneliness that he himself didn't even seem to notice feeling.

"Hey, let's all arm wrestle! Who wants to challenge me?" Bakugo ask-shouted, catching the attention of all the kids. As Bakugo expected, no one wanted to do so, even those whose quirk enhanced their physical capabilities. "Alright...if no one volunteers…" Bakugo exaggeratedly scanned the crowd of children, who all avoided eye contact, lest they got chosen. "Izuku!"

"W-wh-wh-what? M-me?" One moment, Izuku was deep in thought regarding his quirk, and the next he was being called out by his friend to arm wrestle. In front of everyone. It was an understatement to say that he was flustered, he couldn't think of a god reason why Bakugo would pick him so suddenly. All the kids were seemingly confused too. Strangely enough, Izuku found himself anticipating the challenge for some unknown reason, despite being up against Bakugo, it was like fighting a losing battle.

Everyone else watched intently as Izuku bent down to the table's height, and moved his arm forward to meet Bakugo's. The moment their hands clasped, Bakugo started to count down from 3. It was only then Izuku realised exactly how low his chances of winning were. They've arm wrestled multiple times before, and Bakugo always came out on top. Plus, Izuku doubted he had caught up to Bakugo since the last match, about 2 months ago. However, Izuku wasn't just going to give Bakugo a free win, he would make sure to give him at least a fair bit of trouble.

"Go!" With that, the best friends started putting their all strength into their arms, and their faces quickly morphed into ones of immense concentration, eyebrows scrunched, teeth gritted. Everyone was taken aback, Bakugo didn't win immediately, and while he against Izuku of all people? After a moment of silence, cheers erupted from the crowd, rooting both contestants. Their hands were still currently at the starting point, but both were shaking vigorously. Bakugo celebrated inside his head, everything was going to plan so far.

' _Now to make things interesting._ '

Izuku did not expect this, it had been a solid 15 seconds, and somehow he was able to hold his ground against Bakugo! Had he really improved that much? Roaring cheers snapped him out of his thoughts, and he focused back on the match.

"Man Izuku, you're really strong huh?" Bakugo said aloud, using less strength to push against Izuku's arm. Slowly but surely, Izuku's hand towered over Bakugo's, and Bakugo's hand almost touched the table surface. At this point, everyone was cheering so loudly, Izuku thought the whole world could hear them.

' _Just kidding!_ ' Just as he was on the verge of losing, Bakugo combusted the sweat on his palm, resulting in sizeable sparks. Izuku was caught off guard by the sudden activation. It definitely stung, but they really couldn't be called explosions. But Izuku felt his progress halt. Six seconds later, and Bakugo had overpowered Izuku, and Izuku's hand was now on the other side of the table, meaning that Izuku had lost. Reactions were mixed, with some kids cheering for Bakugo's victory regardless, while others groaned at Bakugo for using his quirk during the match.

' _It may have seemed that Kacchan's explosion led him to victory, but those explosions didn't make my hand budge much at all. I lost because of the difference in strength...but still! I was able to hold back Kacchan for six seconds! That's a great improvement compared to all the previous times!_ ' Izuku thought to himself, content at the achievement that no one seemed to notice.

"Wow Midoriya, you're so strong!"

"You almost beat Bakugo! That's crazy!"

"Hey Midoriya, arm wrestle with me too!"

Almost every kid was complimenting Izuku, trying to shout over each other so Izuku could hear them. From the corner of his eye, Izuku could see the caretaker intern trying to calm everyone down, to no avail. He couldn't blame the guy, he didn't know what to do as well. Izuku was flabbergasted at the overwhelmingly positive responses, but even more than that, Izuku felt happy. Not just happy that he had improved in physical strength, no. Izuku was happy that he was receiving so much praises from everyone. Happy that he was the center of attention. Happy that he was being appreciated. Tears started to form in his eyes, which he immediately rubbed away.

Izuku grinned from ear to ear, and cheerfully responded to each question to the best of his ability. Turns out, replying to over 20 kindergarteners was hard work. Izuku got to know a few names, some more quirks that he would no doubt spend time analysing in the future, and even participated in a few more arm-wrestling matches, winning all of them. Everyone was in awe of this newfound side of Izuku's that they had never seen before, and excitement was practically cracking in the air as the whole kindergarten cheered him on. Bakugo, satisfied with his work, went to take a breather as he laid against a nearby wall, sipping from his water bottle as he witnessed the kindergarteners act up.

If you wanted Bakugo's opinion, he'd tell you that he couldn't care less for the other kindergarteners. Sure, they had quirks, but all of theirs were so weak in comparison to his own. However, Bakugo had watched as Izuku trained alongside him, growing exponentially in the process, at an admittedly faster rate physically than he ever expected. Bakugo realised that having a weak quirk didn't matter, as long as you worked tirelessly to improve it. If Izuku continued to train this way, there was no doubt in his mind that he would be leave Bakugo in the dust. As for everyone in the kindergarten however, they didn't share the same determination as Izuku did, and all their compliments and comments were so shallow. It wasn't worth anything to Bakugo to hear praises from trash like them.

Finally, however, stress started to take its toll on Izuku, and no matter how much Izuku tried to ignore the pain, Bakugo knew that it would just be a matter of time before he broke. If his almost idiotic policy towards training was going to burn himself out, then Bakugo would just have to help him out, even if he didn't care about the other kids. After all, training would be boring without Izuku around to compete with him.

"All right, all right, let's play Quirk Tag again! This time, Izuku can be the catcher, and any other three can join him!" After hearing this, everyone's faces lit up, and Izuku shivered in excitement. After the taggers were decided, the game commenced after a countdown, and screaming, shouting and laughter were all that came out of the kindergarten. Izuku's agility, even without his quirk aiding him had also surprised many of the kids. Time flew, and before they knew it, kindergarten was over, with the 4 catchers only being unable to get a hold of Bakugo.

It was your usual scene, with kids strolling along with their parents with gleeful smiles. This time, however, a number of children were walking along chatting with a certain Midoriya Izuku as they exited the kindergarten. Izuku had thought that all he wanted was to study all about becoming a better hero. However, Izuku had thoroughly enjoyed himself today, who knew letting go of heroics for a while felt so refreshing?

"Oi Izuku! We've got work to do, hurry up!" Bakugo scowled, signalling for Izuku to come over. Izuku said his brief goodbyes, and hurried over to Bakugo's side. "Did ya have fun today, nerd?"

Izuku was slightly taken aback. "N-nerd?"

"If you're gonna sit in that corner every day with your notebooks, what else should I call you, huh? If you don't want me to call you that, then start playing with the rest of us!" Bakugo said, matter-of-factly, as the pair continued to walk down their usual route.

"Wait Kacchan, did you ask me to arm wrestle so I could play with everyone?"

Bakugo stopped in his tracks, and turned around to face Izuku. Emerald eyes met crimson red eyes, and the two friends stared at each other, as a gust of wind blew past them.

"You keep on blabbering about saving people with a smile or whatever, but you don't even know how to talk to people. For a nerd, you're pretty dumb, you know." Bakugo taunted, before turning back and resuming to walk.

Izuku smiled to himself. ' _That's just like Kacchan, trying to reason everything he does to heroics. Deep down though,_ ' Izuku looked back to the blonde figure walking away from him. ' _he really cares for me._ '

"Oi, what's taking you so long? We're wasting time!"

"Right!", Izuku said, catching up to his pal ahead of him.

"Thanks Kacchan, I don't know what I'd do if I hadn't met you…"

"Hmph, stop wasting your breath, we need to get back soon if we wanna make any progress. Race you back home, Izuku! Loser does twenty push-ups as punishment" Bakugo sped off after finishing his sentence, leaving an appalled Izuku to chase after him, commencing their early cardio, as what Bakugo would later call it. After the day of training, Izuku told his mom about the events that transpired that day, with an excitement that was usually only reserved for when he talked about heroism. This was a pleasant surprise for Inko, she was glad knowing that Izuku was being supported by such a great friend. Inko set a reminder on a phone to ask Mitsuki about Bakugo's favourite snack, she was going to start making it whenever she came over for dinner.

For the days to come, the lingering, painful pang in Izuku's heart was gone, along with Izuku's reluctance to join the kids' games. He was finally acting his age, and it brought him immense joy that he never knew he could feel, just from playing.

* * *

 **There we go, sorry for the long delay, wasn't t in the mood to be honest. Well, these are the main changes I want to make to the childhoods of our two protagonists. Sorry for the slow pacing so far, promise there'll be more relevant progress in the next few chapters. I hope I'll be able to write well, I know I've mentioned it before last chapter, but seeing other great works on this site makes me feel a lil' inferior ;-;.**

 **When I think of Izuku and Bakugo's relationship, I just see a possible great relationship between rivals gone completely off track. This is my interpretation of how things could've turned out in a different way. I'm a novice writer, so my story may not have the same depth of meaning and may not draw out much emotion than others, but I hope it's enough for your liking.**

 **Next Chapter: Time skip, and the kids get supervised training!**


	4. The Real Training Starts Now!

***claps* Review Review!**

 **Ricku28: Alright, thanks for the heads up man, I don't know why I forgot to fact check things, my bad. I'll change the starting.**

 **LawKaynn: Thank you for the feedback, I do have a problem with pacing and excessive use of words, I'll try my best to reduce redundancy.**

 **tiguylerobot: I have never watched X-Men in my entire life, I have no clue who you're talking about. Their powers may be similar, I don't know, but the stuff Izuku can do with this quirk was all made up by me. Sorry if you're disappointed though!**

 **Bibonn: Got it, I've fixed up the dialogue in the previous chapters and this one, thanks for the heads up! I type it on my phone and the apostrophe is just used more, so sorry about that.**

 **Finally, thank you for everyone who said kind words! It means a lot, it really does, I'll try to write a great story for you guys!**

 **Onto the chapter, starting it off with a Time Skip!**

* * *

 **4 years later**

Both Izuku and Bakugo were now 8, enrolled in Fukohara Elementary School. Thought it all, they remained the best of friends, and they hadn't relented in their training sessions after all these years. Unfortunately, the two started in different classes, so their interactions were limited until after school, not that it affected their friendship in the slightest.

Izuku, being slightly withdrawn due to kindergarten, found it difficult to open up at first, especially in a new setting. However, one day, a massive fire started in the school field due to a lit cigarette that was carelessly disposed of. While the teachers and students hurriedly called the fire department, Izuku's heroic instinct kicked into gear. He summoned a humongous green thundercloud and put out the fire with ease with his rain. News of the incident spread throughout the school, and it didn't take long for his popularity to rise amongst his peers. What's more, with his caring and earnest demeanour, Izuku got along swimmingly with those in his class after all the attention. From there, he was able to grow out of his shy persona, although still being a little stiff at times.

Bakugo, having a more outgoing yet condescending behaviour, stroke a cord with numerous supposed troublemakers in his class. If he was angry, and most cases he was, he would not hesitate to let you know. Coupled with the strength of his quirk and the way he constantly abused it, he wasn't exactly the apple of anyone's eye. Thankfully, Bakugo hadn't gone to the extent of bullying anyone just yet. Other than training, he seemed to enjoy pranking, causing trouble whenever he seemed fit, while those who admired him followed. One time, he even managed to successfully forge and change the names of over a hundred students' final exam papers, with the help of his croons' quirks. Whether if it was a lack of evidence, favouritism due to his academics, or just plain negligence, the school staff rarely punished Bakugo for his acts of mischief.

After just a year enrolling in the school, the two had made a huge name for themselves in their cohort, for very contrasting reasons.

That made it all the more mystifying to discover their amicable friendship. They were so different, one being shy yet caring, and the other extroverted and violent. It was like seeing a angel and a devil interacting together. Despite this clash, the two were inseparable. They had their own friend groups, Izuku's being noticeably larger, but every day after school without fail, the two would head off together for training. Some students even speculated that they had a secret romance going on, much to the disgust of both parties.

Growing considerably in height, Bakugo stood tall at 125cm as compared to Izuku's 120cm. Also, they excelled in every fitness test in P.E that they participated in, proof of their respectable fitness level for their age. Since they were now older, and didn't have to be babysat all day, the pair had the time and permission to train for even longer every day, although Izuku still had to notify his mother of their plans for the day. Classes had ended, and they were headed out for a run along the sandy coastline of Dagobah Municipal Beach Park.

"So Kacchan, how was school?" Izuku asked Bakugo, as they arrived at said beach, the salty breeze becoming more and more apparent as they walked down a flight of stairs to the coastline.

"Lessons were boring as usual, people trying to suck up to me to get on my good side, I couldn't be better, Izuku." Bakugo sarcastically replied, scowling as he reminisced about the day. "I can never catch a damn break around here, it pisses me off!"

Izuku merely laughed at his childhood friend's response. Over the years, Bakugo seemed to develop a dislike towards people in general, and it showed whenever he lashed out at anyone for seemingly petty reasons. Being around him so much though, Izuku got used to his snarky attitude, and was often his voice of reason around others. "Well, at least now we get to train, right? Honestly, we've done it so much over the years, I can't imagine myself not working out, if it's not a rest day."

"'You got that right, I'm gonna leave you in the dust, you won't even be able to catch up to me this time!" Bakugo spat back, warming up before their exercise.

"We'll see about that, Kacchan!" After Izuku had warmed up as well, the two shared a competitive smirk, before racing off into the distance, both eager to outdo the other.

* * *

"I finished first Izuku, that means I won, don't you forget that Izuku." Bakugo unlocked the door to his home, and hurriedly went over to the kitchen, Izuku following behind.

"Man, I'll never understand how you set your priorities, can we worry about the giant abrasion on your knee and elbows?"

"Shut up, I can handle myself."

"Sure you can Kacchan. So is this where you keep the first aid kit?" Bakugo initially wanted to retort, but just nodded at Izuku's question. Izuku took out the first aid kit from the cabinet, and prepared the necessities to treat Bakugo's wounds. "Could you wash your wounds first? I'll be with you in a moment."

All Izuku got in response was a grunt, before Bakugo headed off to the bathroom. Shaking his head but smiling nonetheless, Izuku brought over the antiseptic cream and several gauzes to the bathroom. His mother, Inko Midoriya, always fretted for her child's well-being during trainings, and had instructed Izuku on what to do in the case of any injury. Unable to reject his mother's passionate teachings, Izuku was now experienced in medical procedures. A few minutes later, Bakugo was all patched up, with Izuku's aid.

Just as the pair left the bathroom, they heard the door open, and a familiar voice announcing "I'm home!", which Izuku recognised as Bakugo's dad. Being the polite kid he was, Izuku went to the door to greet him, only to meet a man he had never seen before coming in after Masaru.

"Good evening, Uncle Masaru and umm-"

"Hello young man, my name is Hirotaka Ringu. Masaru invited me over for dinner." The man cut Izuku off, in a chipper tone.

"R-right! Good evening Mr. Hirotaka, I am Midoriya Izuku." Izuku stiffened up, his natural reaction whenever he thought that he had done something wrong.

"No need for the formalities kid, loosen up. It's not like I'm gonna hurt you or anything, relax." Hirotaka chuckled.

Izuku relaxed slightly, before observing the newcomer as he placed his shoes by the entrance. He had lengthy silver hair, tied up neatly into a bun, and wore large ring-shaped earrings on both ears. He was wearing a business suit with a tie like Masaru, although his outfit generally appeared more dishevelled. He also appeared significantly older than Masaru, maybe in his mid-fifties, if Izuku had to guess. He had a constant chipper and smiley attitude, it did wonders to lighten the mood. Somehow, Izuku felt like he had seen the man before, but he couldn't place his finger on it.

"Masaru, I thought you told me that your child was gonna be a handful. He seems pretty tame to me." Hirotaka commented while pointing to Izuku.

"Oh, this isn't my son, he's a childhood friend." Masaru corrected. "Izuku, where is Katsuki?"

"Over here." The three turned over to the source of the voice, as an injured Bakugo turned the corner.

"Katsuki! You're hurt! What happened?" Masaru worriedly asked, already heading over to his son, trying to inspect the giant wounds.

"I'm fine, just a few grazes, Izuku patched me up already. Give it a rest, dad." Bakugo waved Masaru off, before taking a seat on the couch.

"We were training as usual, this time Kacchan fell while we were running at Dagobah Municipal Beach Park. I used the supplies in your first aid kit to tend to his wounds." Izuku stepped in to explain. "Oh! I'm so sorry for not asking first, Uncle Masaru! Please forgive me!"

Masaru took a second to process the information before flashing a small smile at the overly nervous kid. "Well, the sooner it gets dealt with, the better. Thanks for helping him out, Izuku. I keep telling you to stop being so stiff, you're like my second son at this point."

"I could've handled it myself, it wasn't a big deal!" Bakugo exclaimed.

Hirotaka merely stood at the side and observed. "Well, I guess I get the 'handful' part now." He rubbed his chin in thought. "So Midoriya, what kinda training were you guys doing? You two doing sports or something? Preparing for a competition, maybe?" Hirotaka wondered.

Izuku shook his head in denial. "Oh no no, we're actually training to become he-heroes." Izuku averted his eyes with an embarrassed grin, no matter how many times he said it, it would still be awkward to mention. "We were just doing physical conditioning to strengthen our lower bodies and core by running on the beach."

"Oh?" Hirotaka's eyes perked up at the news, and an amused grin grew on his face. "When did this training start?"

"Well, Kacchan and I met at Renewal Kindergarten when we were three, and we both wanted to become heroes just like All Might. So, we both started training since then, all the way until now. At first, I could barely lift a kilogram, but Kacchan helped me to build up my physique and I started to get in shape. To better accomodate for my initial lack of physicalprowesswestartedoncalosthenicsbeforemovingonto-"

 _ ***BOOM!***_

An ear-deafening explosion reverberated throughout the room, surprising everyone, including Izuku, who stopped his muttering immediately. Bakugo started Izuku down for a few seconds, before looking back to his smartphone. Izuku scratched the back of his head sheepishly, unable to meet the eyes of Hirotaka yet again. "S-sorry about that, it's a bad habit of mine. I hope I didn't rant on for too long."

Hirotaka was, simply put, surprised at the lack of class from the explosion user. "It's..it's quite alright Midoriya. So you two have done this for just about four to five years now?"

"Ye-yessir!"

"That's quite impressive, it's almost every child's dream to become a hero in this Quirk-filled society, but taking the steps towards your goal this early on...you two definitely aren't fooling around, huh." Hirotaka paused to glance at Izuku's and Bakugo's bodies. "From the looks of it, you guys didn't slack off either, I can see the effort."

"T-thank you, sir!" Izuku blushed, rarely receiving a compliment towards his physique, feeling a small sense of pride for his efforts being recognised.

"I assume you have been training your quirks too? His one's probably Explosion I assume, what's yours?"

"My quirk's called Storm, simply put, I summon rain from the thunderclouds I form, and I can enlarge and hasten the water droplets. I get dehydrated if I do it for too long, though." Izuku raised his palm, and created a green thundercloud right it, and willing a small drizzle to form.

"I have a name, mister, use it. Katsuki Bakugo." Bakugo walked over to the pair, unable to find anything interesting on his smartphone, deciding to join the conversation instead. "My body secretes nitroglycerin-like sweat that combusts whenever I want it to. I assume you don't need a demonstration."

"Duly noted, Katsuki." Hirotaka frowned, stepping back to look at both students. "Well, manners aside, you two are definitely the most diligent aspiring heroes I've seen, that's for sure. To be frank, I'm interested to see how you two develop."

"Thank you, sir!"

"Tch."

Izuku turned to Bakugo. "C'mon Kacchan, he's complimenting us! At least seem a little grateful!"

"I hear the same thing almost every day from the losers in my class, why should I fake a response just to please his ass?" Bakugo retorted.

"I'm home!", announced Mitsuki as she entered the house with groceries in her left hand as she opened the door with her right, silencing everyone in the vicinity.

"Well, we can continue this conversation over dinner, kids." Hirotaka stated briefly, before saying his due greetings to Mitsuki.

The conversation had ended there, and the two children decided to venture to their respective quirk training grounds while the adults prepared a massive dinner.

* * *

During dinnertime, the adults chatted amongst themselves, while the adolescents stayed quiet, opting to finish their food early and talk later. They listened to the conversations in silence, in case something relevant or important came up.

"I really can't thank you enough Masaru, transitioning from hero work was definitely tough."

"YOU'RE A HERO?" the duo yelled in shock, spilling rice from their mouths in the process.

"Mind your manners you two!" Mitsuki unleashed her divine wrath onto the children, figuratively putting a dent in the top of their skulls with her fists. The two didn't get back up immediately.

"Oh, the topic never came up. Yes, I was a hero years ago, but I'm now retired, after sustaining an injury to my spine. Ever heard of the hero 'Encircler'?" Hirotaka explained, as the two recovered from the assault from Mitsuki. After hearing the name 'Encircler', the green, curly-haired Izuku's head shot back up to face the adult, excitement apparent on his face.

"The Ring Hero: Encircler! His quirk 'Ring' allows him to morph anything he touches within a minute into a ring, and he can manipulate the size of the rings at anytime! Specialising in capture missions, he throws specially made mini iron ingots at villains, and turns them into large rings as they encircle enemies. Before they can react, he shrinks the iron rings, trapping the perpetrators in an instant!" Izuku was practically gushing, with glistening eyes and a smile way too bright for a topic like this. Bakugo, who heard all this, re-evaluated his opinion of the old geezer at the able, even if only by a little.

"You know your stuff Midoriya, you just keep on surprising me." Hirotaka said. "Well, turns out society isn't very kind if you don't have qualifications other than being a hero. After that spine injury, I searched all around for any job. I finally found one under the same company as Masaru here, and he showed me the ropes. Without him, I'd probably be fired in an instant, and I wouldn't be able to support my family as much as I can now. Even tonight, he invited me over to celebrate my recent promotion, I'm seriously in his debt."

"No need to thank me Hirotaka, this is all because of your hard work. You deserve this." Masaru replied, patting his colleague on the back.

"Nonsense, one day, I'll definitely repay you for your kindness." Hirotaka laughed. Then, his eyes landed on the kids opposite him, and an imaginary light bulb lit up in his head. "Actually, I might know just what to do to return the favour."

"How about I help your kid in his training? Summer vacation is coming up soon right, in like two weeks? I'm confident that I'll be able to pass down a thing or two about heroics, I didn't spend eight years working as one for nothing. I could even include Midoriya too, if his parents would allow for it."

"Now hold on a minute mister, I've got everything under control, I don't see how you training me would change anything." Bakugo objected, appearing offended.

However, before he could argue further, the ex-hero detached one of his earrings and threw it at Bakugo's head. A second later, and Bakugo's jaw was clamped shut by the earring resting on the top of his head and below his chin.

"Geez kid, shut up for a bit and listen. I actually own a private mountain range, and it's suitable for training quirks. You can't use them in public, but at my place, it's a-okay! Even if you choose to reject all my advice, I can just let you use the mountain range as a training site. It will allow you to use your quirks on a much larger scale, and I guarantee that it will expedite your quirk improvement. Certainly beats training in a toilet, and a music room of all places, at least." Hirotaka released the clamp on Bakugo's mouth, which he so desperately tried to remove moments ago. "So, what do you say?"

"That sounds like a great plan! Hirotaka, if you could do that for both Katsuki and Izuku, that'd be wonderful! What do you say, Mitsuki?" Masaru awaited his wife's response.

After brief consideration, Mitsuki announced her demands. "On one condition, and I'm sure Inko would agree with me on this—your safety and your grades are of utmost importance. If either one of these is compromised, say goodbye to your training. I will not tolerate you two running around with strong quirks, only to fail written examinations because of your negligence. Izuku, you'll have to ask your mother about this yourself, but Katsuki, do you understand?"

All eyes fell onto Bakugo, after all, the decision at this point was totally riding on him. After a long silence, Bakugo let out an annoyed sigh, dropping his shoulders in defeat, before saying, "Fine, I'll take up your offer, mister. But only because of the private property. I can't think of anything that you could teach me that I don't already know."

"Great! So it's settled then, at least for you. Midoriya, do you want in?" Hirotaka asked.

"Of course! Thank you so much for the opportunity Mr. Hirotaka! Ah, but I have to get my mother's approval first, can I get back to you some other time?"

"Let's exchange contact numbers then, you can text me if there are any strong objections from your parents." Hirotaka said, taking out his own mobile device. A minute later, he obtained an eager Izuku's number, and a reluctant Bakugo's one as well.

The rest of the meal was filled with friendly chatter and laughter, as the topic swapped between work and school. Although Bakugo's pride was somewhat damaged, he couldn't pass up such a golden opportunity, and so couldn't Izuku. The duo excitedly anticipated the first day of summer vacation, when the training with the retired hero would begin.

* * *

Needless to say, the two week wait was absolutely gruelling. Izuku was so excited about the opportunity, his usual muttering spiked in frequency, which his friends were visibly creeped out by. Bakugo, on the other hand, had gotten even more angsty than his usual self, which his followers didn't even think it was possible. Volatile would be perfect to describe his state of mind, lashing out with more fury and bark than ever before, his aggression being at an all time high.

At long last, it was time, and the pair had waited back at Bakugo's house for Hirotaka to pick them up. When Izuku broke the news to his mom, she was surprisingly accepting of the idea at first, even though it would mean that she would be away from her dear baby for a little over a month. He quickly realised why though, she stacked an enormous number of conditions and requirements on Izuku for him to follow, and would deny him the chance of training there if he failed to follow even one of those conditions.

"Just make sure you keep yourself in good condition, alright? Eat, drink and sleep well, oh! Bring along your jacket in case you get cold from the winds at night. Wait, you're sleeping in guest rooms right? What if you can't sleep in the rooms? You have to bring your blanket and pillow then! Also, call me every night, I have to make sure you're alright every single day of the week, or else I can't sleep at night! I have to check with Mitsuki about…"

Izuku sighed just thinking about it. His mom was the best, he wouldn't let anyone say otherwise, but she could be over the top when it came to his safety. Still, it just showed her much she cared for him, and he would be forever grateful to have a mother that supported his dream. He knew some classmates whose parents didn't approve of their dream to become a hero, he couldn't imagine what that would be like.

Izuku's thoughts were interrupted by a screeching halt of a car outside of the house. Izuku grabbed his luggage, a little too oversized for his tastes, and headed outside with a grumpy Bakugo.

"If you've prepared everything, put it in the trunk and let's go." Hirotaka simply said. Izuku and Bakugo did so, got in the car, and Hirotaka stepped on the gas. For a while, the ride was silent, save for the constant whirling of the wheels, each party just minding their own business. Hirotaka wanted to know more about the kids though, so he started his questioning.

"So Midoriya, anything else about your quirk I should know? I could give you some pointers right here instead of out in the scorching sun."

"Well, I can increase the speed of the raindrops as it's in midair, although I'm not very good at it yet. I can expand the size of the raindrops to the size of tennis balls now, and the maximum speed...well it's kind of hard to explain unless you see it for yourself." Izuku racked his brain trying to think of a way to elaborate.

"Interesting." Hirotaka noted. "You described the maximum size of your droplets as tennis balls, so can you only make spherical-shaped water droplets?"

That question left Izuku stunned, how could he be so narrow minded? "Now that you mention it Hirotaka-san, I've never tried making other shapes."

"Oh? Well, go ahead and try, then! Try making a cube-shaped water droplet, just don't make my car wet."

Forming a thundercloud above his palm, Izuku got to work. He pictured a raindrop first, expanding into something akin to a ping pong ball. Then, he concentrated on changing that ping pong ball into a small cube. Moments later, a tiny water cube dripped from the cloud, colliding with Izuku's palm and fell apart like...water. Izuku's eyes shone brightly as his mouth turned crescent-shaped.

"Hirotaka-san, it worked! Why didn't I think of this sooner? This opens up so many possibilities!' Izuku was enthusiastically jumping in his seat, already thinking of what he could do now.

Hirotaka laughed in response. "If it makes you feel better, many heroes actually find out more about their quirk while in the field, either in a desperate attempt to save themselves when things go haywire, or after observing similar quirks from other heroes." Hirotaka continued. "Now you've got something to work on later, Midoriya, good for you."

"That reminds me. I can also produce lightning from my thunderclouds, but it's pathetically weak. I've tried using it more over the years, but I've barely seen any progress in that aspect. I have no clue on how to proceed from here." Izuku sulked, recalling all his failed attempts at improving his lightning strikes.

Hirotaka thought for a while, but he was unable to think of anything right off the bat. "Sorry Midoriya, I'm afraid I'm not sure about that. If you'd like, we could do some experiments on it."

"Really! Thank you so much Hirotaka-san!" Izuku naturally bowed, which Hirotaka witnessed from the passenger mirror, only making him break out in laughter once again.

"Don't get so worked up, that's what I'm here for after all, to help you two improve." Hirotaka paused. "Well..if you want it…" Hirotaka trailed off, it didn't take a genius to figure out who he was referring to. Bakugo merely sneered at the implication, he wasn't going to admit defeat so easily. Izuku couldn't comprehend his partner's thinking, but he grew tired of questioning it. A few more failed attempts at getting Bakugo to speak later, and they arrived at Hirotaka's place.

* * *

When Izuku heard 'private property', he was expecting Hirotaka's space of living to be extremely grand. Instead, the house was surrounded by a mediocre-ly built fence, with a small security lock at the entrance. As for the house, it was sporting a more modern look, with a mix of white and brown decorating the rectangular building. However, it appeared to be the same size as Bakugo's residence, perhaps even smaller. Nevertheless, Izuku didn't want to impose, so he kept his mouth shut.

"Get a move on, guest room's down the hallway, to the right, you can't miss it. Place your luggage there, and then we can start training right away." The two did as they were told, and headed out with Hirotaka to the private mountain range.

"Wow…" Izuku gazed at the sight in front of him. Multiple mountains were visible, with stray rocks littered all over the place, most likely the result of Hirotaka's training. The mountain range spanned so far, Izuku couldn't even see the end of it from where he was. Sure, he had noted the time taken to travel around the perimeter, but seeing the inside still shocked him.

"I'll go set up a few necessities, like your water and such. Meanwhile, you two can talk strategy, I have a feeling I'm unwanted here anyways." Hirotaka said with a slight chuckle, beginning to walk back to his house.

Izuku turned to face his childhood friend. "Kacchan, I'm going to start by practicing how to control the shapes of my-"

"Are you an idiot?" Bakugo cut Izuku off. "The obvious thing to do here is increasing our quirk's limits, like how strong your rain is. Leave your little damn experiments until after we get back home a month later. What's the point of being here if we're not pushing ourselves?"

Izuku held back a retort. As much as he wanted to argue, he knew Bakugo was right. They only had a month before school reopened, time was indeed limited. He had thought of a plethora of things to try when he found out about his quirk's other ability, but that could wait.

"You're right, Kacchan."

"Of course I'm right, who do you think I am?"

Izuku resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

After a few minutes of warming up and stretching, Hirotaka gathered, throughout a few return trips with multiple boxes of water bottles, a few stackable chairs, and a large foldable temporary shelter for resting. "I'll let you two train your quirks, but if you only do that for a month, your bodies will get out of shape. I've seen way too many Emitter-type heroes that are over reliant on their quirk, and end up losing in a physical fight." Hirotaka stated. "After two hours, I'll have you two do physical conditioning for an hour, and we rinse and repeat until dinner time. Feel free to practise on the mountains, just don't get yourself crushed under debris or something. If I see any of you two slacking off, no dinner, it's as simple as that. Are we clear?"

"WHAT?"

"If I'm going to return a favour, I'm going to do it right. By the end of this month, Masaru is going to see you two become powerhouses." Hirotaka smirked. "Or do you want to back out now? I won't judge."

It was going to be tough, but Izuku was not going to stand down here, not in front of this golden opportunity to improve. "I'll be in your care, Mr. Hirotaka!"

"If you think I'm giving up so soon, you're fucking delusional." Bakugo snapped, fired up at the ex-hero's words.

Hirotaka nodded with approval. "That's what I like to hear. Now get going already, the clock is ticking boys!"

* * *

Tough was a severe understatement. Hellish would be more appropriate for the occasion. Izuku's training was simple on paper: Destroy part of a cliff bit by bit as fast as possible, and stopping to rehydrate every time he overused his quirk. His body was supposed to be extra tolerant to drinking water, but it seemed that tolerance was gone due to his intense workload. Izuku felt bloated after an hour of training and gulping down water, needless to say the rest of the training went on in queasy suffering.

Bakugo, on the other hand, had opted to improve his quirk by expanding the sweat glands in his arms. After requesting for a giant tub of boiling hot water, his training was repeatedly plunging his arms into the water, before unleashing explosions so powerful, they could be compared to bombs, towards the sky. Apparently, Hirotaka had suggested to focus on the sweat glands on both his palms and forearms, which would give him an extra element of surprise during combat. Bakugo considered this to be good advice, but his pride didn't allow him to accept the suggestion without flipping out like a madman. Amongst all the yelling and shouting, Izuku overheard Bakugo angrily cursing at himself for listening to Hirotaka.

After the first day, the duo were on the verge of death, metaphorically speaking. Izuku vomited before eating dinner, leaving him to have a diminished appetite during the meal. Bakugo's arms were pulsating pain, with small blisters all over them, due to overusing his quirk. When it came down to it, Hirotaka was absolutely brutal and unforgiving. Izuku knew the long term advantages, but that didn't make the training any less dreadful.

"Die, you stupid germs! Arrrrghh!"

"Izuku dear, what was that?"

"Kacchan's just brushing his teeth, mom." Izuku facepalmed, eliciting a nervous laugh from the woman on the other side of the phone. Finally being able to relax on a futon under the cool air-conditioning in the guest room, Izuku was telling his mother how the training went. He could hear the pure distress in her voice, and he imagined her pacing around the room panicking as the conversation went on. It saddened him to upset his mother, but in retrospect, there was nothing to really worry about.

"Do you need me to bring you back home, Izuku?" Inko wailed over the phone.

"For the hundredth time mom, I'm fine. I can handle myself, I won't do anything dangerous. I promise, mom." Izuku replied, a slight annoyance in his tone.

"You know I can never stop worrying about you Izuku. If anything happens, I'll come rushing right away, okay dear?"

"Okay mom, it's getting late, we should both get some rest. Good night mom. I love you." Izuku sincerely said.

"I love you too my baby." Inko replied, with even more endearment and warmth in her voice, before ending the call.

Izuku put down his phone beside him after setting a morning alarm for the next day. Thank god that Hirotaka was only going to supervise them once per week, on his day off from work, Izuku didn't think he could make it alive otherwise. No words were spoken even after Bakugo burst through the door, they both needed their rest. Putting all thoughts aside, Izuku let his tiredness take over him, as he slowly drifted to sleep, consciousness fading.

* * *

 **There we go, tRaINiNG!(do i use this word too much?) This will likely go on for a few more chapters before I get to canon events, sorry if I'm boring you with the progression. I'm still making up the plot events as I go along, that's why it's taking quite a while for me to update. I hope you enjoyed reading the chapter, see you sometime soon!**


	5. Spar

It was the final week for Hirotaka's training camp-of-sorts, and the adolescent pair were still diligently training. At first, both Izuku and Bakugo were overly eager to maintain their own intense training regimens. They would sneak outside after dinner, training late into the night, although exhausted from the lengthy torture during the day.

Hirotaka, however, threatened to strap them of their dinner rights if he noticed any signs of unnecessary overexertion. The first time the two objected, their arms and legs were restrained immediately by his quirk.

Then, the adult enjoyed his meal to the fullest, ensuring to rub it in their faces that they couldn't dig in, while the two watched helplessly in their seats. There was no doubt in their minds that Hirotaka would do so again, so they complied, although one of them was more visibly enraged than the other.

Unrestrained quirk training proved to be extremely efficient, and two weeks worth of training produced astonishing results. Izuku's fastest droplets could already crack concrete, even though it would deplete about 20% of his water capacity after a few seconds. He could expand his water droplets up to the size of basketballs now.(he still preferred to use spherical objects for comparison)

All this, and he had seven more years until hero high school examinations. Seven long years to bring his quirk to a whole new level. His dream of becoming a hero, one that saves everyone with a smile, was slowly coming to fruitio—

Multiple violent explosions erupted from the other side of the bathroom door, interrupting Izuku's thoughts.

"BASTARD! You've been in there for fifteen minutes! How long does it take to wash up!" Bakugo's muffled voice exclaimed. The thundercloud above Izuku disappeared in an instant, and Izuku frantically reached for the nearby hung towel to dry himself. How long had he spent in the shower recalling the events of the two weeks of training?

Putting on his clothes, Izuku heard a thud before he opened the door, ready to apologise to his friend.

What he saw instead, was an irritated Hirotaka staring down the blonde now squirming on the floor, arms and legs tied down by two large metal rings, who all the while spewed out vulgarities.

"You brat, I'm trying to sleep and here you are causing a ruckus." Hirotaka pinched the bridge of his nose with his eyes closed. "Izuku, go to bed and let him shower. Katsuki, If I hear anymore noise from you, you know what will happen."

With a glare, he released the restraints on Bakugo before begrudgingly walking down the dimly lit hallway back to his room, right next to the guest room.

"We're doing something different for tomorrow's training, you two and I both will need the rest." Hirotaka warned. Izuku and Bakugo both perked up at this news, and Bakugo stopped swearing, although still donning his signature scowl. They watched on as the man's shadowy form retreated into the confines of his bedroom.

Izuku couldn't help but feel unsettled, and ponder about the session tomorrow. Knowing Hirotaka, it wouldn't be anything pleasant. There were so many ways for Hirotaka to make them suffer, and Izuku couldn't pinpoint one.

Putting away his worries, he could really only wait for the next day to find out, and so he went to sleep.

* * *

"Rise and shine boys. Now get up, this is important. Meet me outside."

Izuku barely croaked our a response as he groggily rubbed his face. Reluctantly opening his eyes, he expected to see small rays of light shining beneath the curtains. However, he was met with a pitch black room. He was usually an early riser, but how early was it?

He made his way to the bathroom to freshen up, nudging Bakugo along the way to the door to wake him up, eliciting an annoyed groan from him.

When the two finally met up with Hirotaka, they were greeted with a haphazard arrangement of rocks. There were four separate piles of boulders that marked out a rectangular shape if viewed from above. Two streams of tinier rocks extended from the middle of the structure's length, converging into a circular symbol in the middle.

Hirotaka was tilted his head to face the duo, as he stood at one end of the circle, his body angled perpendicular to the other. Izuku's eyes widened as the realisation dawned on him.

This was an arena. A sloppily arranged arena, but an arena nonetheless.

Which meant that…

"You two have sharp minds, you can probably tell what this is." Hirotaka raised his voice, and gestured for them to come closer, before starting his explanation. "You two have got one week left with me. Enough strengthening your quirks, you two have done plenty, from what I've seen. We're going to practice combat, full-fledged combat, and we'll alternate between sparring while using quirks and without them."

"Heroes will have to experience combat sometime in their career, no matter what. Whatever you learn in theory, you have to be able to apply them correctly in any situation." The old mentor glanced at Izuku momentarily before pointing towards the arena below him. "Step out of the perimeter, render your opponent immobile or unable to fight, or forcing a verbal concession. Those are the conditions for winning. Katsuki, spar with me. Quirks are allowed. Izuku, give us a countdown."

Izuku looked over to see a delighted Bakugo, smiling to himself while eagerly heading towards his side of the field. Izuku himself wasn't a big fan of fighting, preferring diplomacy if a fight ever broke out. He knew Bakugo didn't share this sentiment as much as him, although he wasn't actively looking for trouble, he would gladly accept a fight head on.

After both participants took their positions, Izuku counted down. "Three, two, one, begin!"

As soon as the fight started, Bakugo angled his arms behind him, and blasted his way towards his opponent at a blinding speed, leaving behind large puffs of smoke in his waking.

Izuku blinked, and only then did he realise what had just occurred. Already up in Hirotaka's face, Bakugo held his palm out, ready to unleash a devastating blast.

With a swift motion that betrayed his age, Hirotaka merely ducked under to completely dodge the explosion, grabbing a rock from the battlefield and tapping it on Bakugo's right ankle. A thin but sturdy ring formed, cupping Bakugo's legs together shut.

Bakugo blasted himself away from Hirotaka in an attempt to recuperate. However, the restraints had made it incredibly awkward to do so. Stumbling back a little, he regained his footing, tightly squeezing his toes to stand upright.

Hirotaka dashed towards the blonde, closing the distance between them fast. Izuku noticed a very sharp flick of his wrist upwards towards Bakugo as he approached. Bakugo, instinctively took to the air again, propelling himself high into the sky, arms close to the sides of his hips.

Before he could travel far however, a brown ring materialised seemingly out of thin air, closing in on Bakugo's wrists. Bakugo fell out of the air and onto the hard rock surface below him, struggling against his restraints like the previous night.

Hirotaka walked towards his opponent, stone-faced. "You knew how my quirk worked, and yet you somehow decided that rushing and overwhelming me was the best option. That isn't the worse plan, as opposed to giving me time to do what I want, but you were predictable."

He dug his foot into Bakugo's ribcage, not hard enough to do any serious damage, but certainly enough to elicit a pained cry from the kid. "If you had changed direction midair, for example, I may not have been able to react the way I did, and you may have taken the fight."

Bakugo hadn't given up however, defiantly trying to chip away at the rings around his limbs with explosions. The burnt smell of fabric wafted through the air as Bakugo's pants now had gaping holes where Bakugo's palm was closest.

"Oi bastard, the fight isn't over, stop lecturing me as if you've won! I can still fight!" Bakugo argued, still struggling with the seemingly indestructible rings on his body.

Hirotaka sighed, "Man, I guess I can't convince you to give up, huh? Oh well." He grabbed Bakugo by the torso and tossed him out of the arena. Landing with a resounding thud, Bakugo yelped in pain as he rolled for a few more feet, coming to a stop facing Hirotaka and Izuku. Izuku could already make out a few scratches and cuts on Bakugo's entire body and face after that roll.

"If you two are serious about becoming heroes, then you should have some sort of proper combat experience now." Releasing his hold on his quirk, he freed Bakugo from his plight and supported him back up without his consent.

Bakugo's scowl lost its usual menace, as he stared down at the lingering red marks on his wrists. ' _I lost. I really just lost to this old geezer. It was indisputable, I couldn't even retaliate._ ' Bakugo clenched his fists, nails digging deep into his skin. ' _Damn it…_ '

Izuku was equally as stunned. He didn't dare to question Hirotaka's capabilities for a second, but to shut down Bakugo so quickly was certainly no easy feat.

"Both of you, snap out of it." Hirotaka caught their attention. "Here's how it'll go. You two will alternate between fighting with and without quirks each round, with the same conditions for victory. Whoever gets three consecutive wins, will get to face me for one round. Now, get into position."

Izuku made his way to the arena, mind already wandering off to potential battle strategies. Sure, he was somewhat unnerved, his nature wasn't to fight after all, but sparring alongside with his best friend and a pro? It would certainly help him fine-tune his technique and reflexes. Amongst all his planning, and inner thoughts, Izuku hadn't noticed Bakugo's malice rising back up to the surface, as tiny cracks of fire popped from his palms.

"3...2...1...Begin!"

* * *

' _I can barely keep up!_ ' Izuku thought as he dodged another one of Bakugo's explosive swipes. As soon as he was in the clear, Izuku tried to summon rain above Bakugo in an attempt to counter. Suddenly, Bakugo launched another blast at Izuku, producing a large amount of smoke, blinding his vision. Disoriented, Izuku heard another two minor blasts in quick succession before suddenly being pinned down by Bakugo's body weight, and Bakugo held out his left palm towards Izuku's face.

"I give! I give!"

"Izuku admits defeat, it's Bakugo's win, once again. Three wins in a row, so take a breather, and we'll continue with our matches." Hirotaka announced. Bakugo huffed as he got off Izuku, stomping towards his water bottle at the foldable shelter.

Izuku rubbed his back, trying to relieve the pain. ' _What's up with Kacchan today? He's being really aggressive, more so than his usual self._ '

"Oi, I'm ready for our fight! Get over here!" Bakugo fumed, rushing back to the arena despite his weariness.

"No, rest for one more minute. You need it. At least dry yourself with a towel, both of you are drenched from Izuku's rain." Hirotaka replied with a frown. Bakugo let out another frustrated huff, before taking his seat at the shelter.

Izuku frowned, it didn't make sense to him. ' _Why isn't Kacchan taking his time, Hirotaka-san doesn't mind waiting?_ ' Izuku took his seat beside Bakugo, drinking profusely to replenish his water capacity. ' _Maybe I'll talk to Kacchan later, he seems really unsettled today._ ' Izuku decided.

Soon, a minute had passed and the two started sparring. Izuku intently observed the fight, taking in every detail he noticed. Izuku and Bakugo had been sparring for about three hours, and Izuku was slowly getting used to countering Bakugo's moves by observing how he moved. As Bakugo constantly trained his quirk, his upper body adapted to the recoils of his explosions, giving him an edge in raw power over Izuku. However, Izuku knew that skill and strategy played an equal, if not bigger role in combat. If he could get around the difference in strength, he could come out as the victor.

The repetitive cycle of training lasted all the way through dinner: Spar, Rest, and Repeat. It was indeed a vital experience for Izuku, learning how to properly make use of his quirk during combat situations. He would also take note of the tips that Hirotaka's gave him throughout the day.

As time went on, Izuku won more and more matches against Bakugo, and even managed to face off against their mentor a few times(and losing). One thing never changed, Hirotaka was undefeated, mercilessly taking down his opponent every match no matter who it was. It was a little demoralising, but Izuku knew that this was a hurdle they would have to overcome to better themselves.

It also became more clear to Izuku that there was a problem with Bakugo. Sometime after lunch, amidst all the battles, his battle prowess suddenly dipped. More openings when he fought, his attacks had lesser impact to them, and most noticeable, his drive to excel was virtually non-existent.

It was time for dinner, and the two adolescents halted immediately once they heard Hirotaka announce the time.

' _Alright, I shouldn't forget that elbows and knees can do serious damage during a fight. Also, instead of predicting where a speedy opponent would end up, I can summon rain across a large area where my opponent can't run away from. That way, I can increase the speed of my droplets at wherever they try and flank to. I should work on multi-tasking, in case I face off against multiple opponents. I need to train my quirk more too, so that I can-_ '

Izuku's thoughts were interrupted when Bakugo's shoulder collided with Izuku. Normally, he would respond with a snarky attitude, but he just went on ahead to the house like it was nothing.

He hadn't said a word for the entire dinner, eating in dead silence. Every attempt by Izuku to talk about the day was ignored. Finishing his meal in a record five minutes, he simply announced that he was going straight to bed after washing up, all with a sullen face. Izuku worriedly glanced towards Hirotaka for his input, only to be met with a nonchalant shrug. Izuku wolfed down his meal and placed his plate in the sink, and followed his friend back to the guest room, concern written all over his face.

Izuku rushed down the dark hallway, all the way to the guest room that they were staying in. Bakugo hadn't even switched on the light. Izuku turned on the light, and Bakugo was there, on his knees beside his futon on the tatami floor, seemingly muttering to himself.

"H-hey Kacchan, how're you doing?" Izuku inched closer towards his friend.

"Oi Izuku."

"Y-yes?" Izuku stopped.

"I'm strong, right?" Bakugo asked, with a shaky tone that contrasted from his usual confidence. It was as if he was trying to convince himself of something.

' _Was this what his behaviour was all about?_ ' Izuku thought before replying. "Of course, Kacchan. You beat me every round in the morning-"

"So why can't I beat that stupid ring fucker?" Bakugo lashed out, staring at Izuku. At that moment, Izuku witnessed something he thought he'd never see in his life.

' _He's crying..._ '

"Damn it! Damn it! Damn it! Heroes are supposed to win under any circumstances! They're the ones that should never give up, never falter in the face of any villain. Winning is the mark of a true hero, so why did I lose to him...and you?" Bakugo was screaming, there was absolutely no chance that Hirotaka hadn't heard him.

"This is just training though, it's okay if you lose, that's how you improve." Izuku was having trouble wrapping his head around his friend's logic. These were his inner thoughts?

"Shut up! I don't need that guy's crappy advice, and I never lost to him! I'm not supposed to lose if I'm so strong like everyone says I am." Bakugo sniffled.

"Mr. Hirotaka is a retired pro hero, he's more than five times our age! It's only natural that he beats us with eight years of experience on his back…" Izuku tried to reason.

"Eight years? So what? Every time the situation seems bleak, and the villains have the upper hand, you think All Might cares about any of that?" Bakugo stood up from his slouched position. "No, he smashes through everything, and wins no matter how hopeless it is! Do you get it now? If I'm going to be the next number one hero, I can't lose! I'll surpass every single person in my path...and yet, I fucking lose to him, and even you...damn it!"

Izuku noticed that Bakugo's palms were sparking, a habit that showed whenever his friend was genuinely outraged at a situation. Even so, Izuku had to say something.

"Kacchan, you can't change what's happened, but there's always next time!"

"There is no next time, you damn idiot! Haven't you been listening to what I just fucking said? I have to win at all costs, but I've already lost!" Bakugo's tears were now dropping from his chin, his voice hoarse from all the crying. "Why do you think I try so hard during every time we race or compete with each other? Winning is quintessential to my existence, Izuku! Just look at All Might!"

"You think All Might hasn't lost before?" Izuku surprised himself at what he just said, it was extremely rare for him to talk ill about his superhero idol.

"Of course he hasn't, show me a video online where he's lost!"

"Just because he's never lost on television, doesn't mean he's never lost in his life!

"You don't know that!"

"Then you also can't say that he's won all the time!"

A deathly silence filled the air. Izuku hadn't raised his voice in a long time, not to mention against Bakugo. It was Bakugo's turn to be at a complete loss for words. A few seconds at the maximum had passed, but it felt like an entire hour.

Izuku hadn't even realised his fists were clenched, and his teeth were grinding against each other. Was he really angry at his childhood friend for something so petty? At least, Izuku hoped what he did calmed down his friend.

"...If All Might isn't the unbeatable hero that he says he is, then does that mean my admiration of All Might was false? That my ideology of winning every fight was wrong all this time? Tell me, Izuku!"

"No…"

"HUH?" Bakugo let out a raucous yelp before audibly gulping, emanating a murderous aura. With all the panting and glaring, Bakugo looked ready to maul Izuku right then and there.

"Hear me out!" Izuku waved his hands in front of him, taking a step back before steeling himself for what he was about to say next.

"I think that winning is something we should all still strive for, especially if we want to be heroes. But...even if we don't win, we leave our loss behind us, and we move forward." Izuku explained, silencing Bakugo for a moment. His eyes shifted downwards, musing about what his friend just told him. "Could I show you something, Kacchan?" Izuku offered, while grabbing his phone from the counter. Taking Bakugo's silence as a yes, he unlocked his phone and searched intently for a few seconds. Finding it, he turned his phone sideways and gestured for Bakugo to sit down on their futons, which he reluctantly accepted to do.

The video's background was dark, and Izuku had to turn up the brightness to the maximum before continuing. Bakugo's eyes widened slightly as he watched the oh so familiar clip.

"This was All Might's debut, where he saved hundreds of people from this fiery building. He apprehended the villain who caused this incident with ease, and he was praised immensely for his actions."

Bakugo continued watching as the renowned "Why? Because I am here!" played on the smartphone. Moments later, the video's runtime had reached his end, and the thumbnail showed once again.

Izuku managed a small smile. "It's my favourite video, for a lot of reasons I'm sure you wouldn't want me to geek out about. Here's the part that people rarely see, though."

Reversing to the previous screen, Izuku scrolled for a second more before clicking on another video in his gallery. Clicking on the play button, Izuku let Bakugo hold the phone for a better look.

"I am...talking about my debut on this esteemed radio show!"

"We are delighted to have you on our show, All Might! So tell us all about how you felt during the rescue, we're all dying to know!" The female reporter gushed over the muscular man, asking him to give his input.

"Let me start off with this, then! As I entered the building, there were obviously many people that needed saving. People under rubble, trapped in a wall of fire, et cetera." All Might started like how a teacher would explain a theory to his class.

"Now, I couldn't let this feelings get in the way of my work, and I didn't. It still pains me to see so many souls harmed during the acts of wretched villainy. So, I swooped in to save every civilian, as you may have seen!

I am relieved to see that there were no major casualties, or even worse, loss of lives. However! I do not consider this to be a success!" All Might declared, pointing upwards with his index finger.

Bakugo flashed a face of surprise, and the reporter in the video had a similar reaction. "Why do you say that, All Might? You performed a superhuman feat, rescuing all those citizens alone, without backup from other heroes even!"

"Yes, that is true, but the fact that there were casualties to begin with, villains to begin with, shows that my work is not done. I swear, for as long as I live, that I will eradicate villainy off the face of the earth, as the one and only Symbol of Peace! Only then, will I rest easy, knowing that the heroes have won the war against villainy! Otherwise, I have not prevailed!"

Thunderous clapping followed as All Might announced his goal, and Izuku paused the video and took back his phone from Bakugo's sweaty grasp. "The message isn't all there but Kacchan, I hope you understand what I'm trying to say. All Might doesn't think this is a win, he thinks he's lost. But he still goes on fighting crime and beating villains, because he wants to get a win that truly matters." Izuku hoped that he'd twisted the interview to better convince his friend.

"A win that...truly matters, huh?" Bakugo said, so softly that Izuku had to process the sentence twice in his head to understand what he murmured.

"I get that losing sucks, it's not like I enjoy getting beaten by Mr. Hirotaka every single time. But I've learnt a lot from him, and I'm sure he's given you some helpful tips too-"

"I know, I know, just give me some time to think about all this." Bakugo cut Izuku off, before laying down on top of his futon and letting out a long sigh. Izuku just sat on his own one, awaiting Bakugo's next words.

"...I don't want to admit it, but you're right. There really is no point worrying about today, huh? That just means I have to be better than this from now on."

The corners of Izuku's lips curled up into a massive smile. "Well, if it makes you feel any better, you can talk to me or your parents about your feelings anytime. We're in this together, Kacchan."

"Yeah, yeah, don't start spouting mushy shit now, of all times." Bakugo sighed, shutting down Izuku's enthusiasm. "But I'll take you up on that sometime." He said softy, shifting his gaze away from the greenhead as the silence turned somewhat comfortable. "Damn it, now I can't sleep."

"Sorry Kacchan, I just thought tha-" Before Izuku could start rambling, Bakugo got up on his feet, and scratched his head in annoyance.

"I'm going to go train outside, it's up to you if you want to join me."

Izuku looked up at his friend, and stood up as well. "Yes!"

Before either of them could notice, a silver-haired man fiddling with his left earring left to his room and smiling to himself. He heard Bakugo and Izuku's footsteps outside his door, which faded away after a while. Pulling out a seat, he dialed a contact on his phone, who answered after just a few rings.

"Hello Masaru, it's me, Ringu."

"Oh hello Hirotaka, how are you doing? Is this about the training you mentioned yesterday at work?"

"Yes it is actually. That ego of Bakugo's got to go."

"I still don't think 'crushing him in battle', as you put it, is the best way of handling things. He's still an eight year old, Hirotaka." Masaru replied, worry laced between his words.

"An eight year old with an extremely inflated ego. Look, someone has got to teach him, or at least plant a seedling of doubt in his head that he's not the best thing to ever bless mankind. All Might's has amazing and proper hero ethics and values, but I don't think he realises the kind of mentality he instils in children these days. Absolutely ridiculous, the world's not so black and white as 'beat villains and everything's fine'. Thankfully kids like Izuku gets it." Hirotaka ranted.

"Still, Mitsuki has given him some harsh beatings over the years, I doubt that-"

"Oh, have some backbone, will you?" Hirotaka huffed. "Both of you have been raising a child who'll grow up to have an insatiable pride, and hence a poor hero. But I guess I'm not one to talk about parenting, huh?" Hirotaka looked over to the small picture frame on the table beside his bed. It was a family picture taken many years ago, with Hirotaka and a shorter woman smiling along with two children.

"That wasn't your fault, I keep telling you-"

"Don't try and change the subject. Anyways, I have a feeling that it'll turn out just fine by the end of this week." Hirotaka looked out his bedroom window, witnessing the teens stretching and warming up, and smiled once again.

"...What? Why do you think so?"

"Don't ruin the moment, Masaru."

"I'm sorry, what moment are you referring t-" Masaru couldn't even finish before he got hung up on.

'Well, guess it's time for me to sleep for work tomorrow.' Hirotaka strolled over to his bed after turning off the lights, relishing in the comfort of the cushioned surface.

*booom* *booom* *BOOOM*

Hirotaka blinked. "Haaaaaaaaaaghh…"

* * *

For the rest of the week, Bakugo was even more fired up during training, and because Hirotaka had work for most of the week...Izuku took the brunt of that enthusiasm. Of course, Izuku voices his complaints when he was being beaten to a pulp during their sparring, with or without quirk, but Bakugo didn't bat an eye.

Izuku spent the rest of the week analysing what to work on, and practicing his combat theories against Bakugo. A lot of them were solid on paper, just that Izuku lacked the combat experience to apply it well enough, as well as the physical strength and flexibility for them to work on an opponent like Bakugo. On the fourth day, Izuku got his first win without Bakugo holding back.

The old Bakugo would've lashed out in frustration, at the very least put up some sort of tantrum. This time, he was indifferent, and asked for an immediate rematch, which he irrefutably won. Upon obtaining the win, he didn't brag, or put Izuku down with an insult, he simply pointed out the reasons why he thought Izuku lost, to Izuku's glee.

On the sixth day, Hirotaka's second day off for the week came around, and they repeated the same exercise as the first day. Both Izuku's and Bakugo's performance had drastically improved, and Izuku saw that Hirotaka was oddly ecstatic throughout the day, even treating them to a grand feast that was supposed to be reserved for the seventh, final day.

School was about to start again, so Izuku and Bakugo bid their goodbyes on the last day before Katsuki's parents picked them up by evening time.

"Mr. Hirotaka, we're truly grateful for all that you've done for us! I'll miss you!" Izuku teared up. He would never forget Hirotaka's vital teachings.

"Pfffft, stop it Izuku, it wouldn't be very heroic if you cried all the time, right?" Hirotaka said, patting Izuku's shoulder and pulling him into a brief hug, which he returned after a pause. "You'll be able to achieve your dream, I just know it."

"Thank you, sir!" Izuku beamed with pride, bowing one more time for good measure.

Hirotaka snickered before lightly scolding, "Stop calling me sir, you're too stiff!" Then, he walked over to the quiet blonde with hands in his pockets. "I wasn't sure at first, but the way you are now, you'll achieve yours too."

Oddly silently, Bakugo looked back with his own smile.

"Of course, Hirotaka. If you think I'm just gonna fail now, you're crazy."

"...hmph! ow get going you two, I'm sure Mitsuki wouldn't like waiting."

With that, they entered the Bakugo family car, ensuing the rowdiest of car rides, at least for Izuku. It was a subtle change, but Masaru and Mitsuki both noticed Bakugo's new mannerisms. He only got hit by Mitsuki three times for saying something offensive, instead of his usual five or six times!

When Izuku returned home, he was greeted by a monstrous bear hug from his dear mother, wailing about missing Izuku so dearly, even after the daily phone calls and messages. They sat down and had a nice katsudon dinner, making sure they made up for the time they spent apart with a good Disney Movie together on the couch afterwards.

Izuku went to bed with a huge smile that night.

* * *

Bakugo had been staring at the wooden door in front of him for the past minute. He was dead tired from the training earlier, he really should've been asleep by now. It was only 9.30p.m, and others his age might consider that early, but contrary to what many believed, he was an early sleeper. But whenever he tried to sleep, he thought back to the conversation he had with Izuku. And for the first time in a very long time, he wanted to apologise for getting so heated up back there, an act that was usually against his ideals. He felt conflicted. Was it really okay to lose sometimes...was it okay to show weakness?

He wanted an answer for himself, and tossing and turning in bed wasn't going to help his situation one bit. So there he was, metres away from the old folks, with only the door in front of him separating them. Deciding not to prolong his self-inflicted frustration anymore, he knocked lightly on the wooden surface, with much lesser force than he'd normally apply. He let himself in after hearing the confused "Come in?" from the other side, and stood at the doorway.

There they were on their king-sized bed, looking at him as if he suddenly grew a second head or something. Then again, maybe a second head wasn't so weird, Bakugo had seen a lot of unusual mutations.

Masaru sat up while maintaining eye contact with his child. "Is anything wrong Katsuki? Usually you'd just barge in, or smash your fist against the door if you wanted to knock." That was what he was concerned about?

"Nothing's wrong, idi-" Bakugo stopped himself, and sighed at his next choice of words. "Nothing's wrong, Dad."

That was enough for the eyes of the patriarch in the room to seemingly increase in size, while the matriarch asked a question of her own."Are you sure you didn't break anything? If you did, just admit it, you're not getting off easy by buttering up to us." Mitsuki said before rolling up her sleeves and stretching her good punching arm, before being stopped by Masaru before she could pursue the thought.

"Shut it...Mom. Can't I come into my own parents' room for another reason than 'I broke something'?"

Mitsuki ceased her questioning for a bit, eyeing her son closely as he sat in between her husband and herself. Something was definitely up.

"Then what are you here for? Spit it out."

Bakugo looked up at the confused adults in front of him. Maybe this was a mistake, but he wanted try this for once. To see what would happen.

He shifted closer, not missing the cautious look from his mom and the fearful look from his dad, before wrapping his arms around the both of them. It was a little awkward since his arms were not fully grown, so he was really just holding onto their ribcages tightly. The three sat in silence, one hanging his head low to avoid eye contact, while the parents shared the same incredulous expression.

"Wh-wha?" was all Mitsuki could muster at the insane turn of events.

Bakugo quickly retracted his arms, "I just wanted to try hugging you two. Don't think too much of it." Sighing once again, he hopped off the bed and started his walk back to his room, not even looking back nor closing the door.

He had seen many families hugging. When kids got dismissed from school and their parents came to pick them up, or just even on the street. Bakugo never got why it was a common gesture, sure it was nice for the first second, but that warmth quickly faded away. He shook his head, hugging really was overrated-

A set of burly arms around Bakugo's torso stopped him from moving forward. It was a gentle hug, no doubt by his wimp of an old man.

"Sorry for not returning that hug earlier. It'd be rude to leave you hanging, right?" Masaru knelt down, and let his fatherly instinct take over his usual fear of his son.

"Damn straight." Despite his harsh words, Bakugo was sporting a big grin. He hugged back, and that warmth feeling came back, but tenfold this time. It made him feel at ease, wanting to just relax in his dad's arms.

Maybe hugging was overrated...but being hugged back sure wasn't.

They maintained the hug for a longer time than in the bedroom, before a third set of arms joined in the hug, albeit extremely awkwardly. If Bakugo had looked up, he would've saw Masaru uncharacteristically commanding his wife to join, which she obeyed with some doubt.

"I'm not good with this touchy-feely shit...okay? Don't think this'll be a regular thing." Mitsuki whispered softly, and Bakugo chuckled at the annoyance in her tone. She was right, as right as it felt at the moment, Bakugo couldn't see himself doing this every day. It just wasn't his style.

However...maybe a hero could show weakness sometimes. Maybe he could handle a few losses every now and then. He was going to be number one someday, but maybe a few breaks along the way wouldn't hurt.

Bakugo went to bed with a huge smile that night.

* * *

 **AHHHHHH I'm bad at writing emotional scenes man, but I just wanted to give it a shot. It'd be kind of weird if I didn't address Bakugo's personality sometime in this series, since my whole entire premise is a good relationship between Izuku and Bakugo.**

 **Let me know what you think of my horrible writing, please leave a review!**

 **Have a good day everyone!**

* * *

 **Readers that are reading the Rewrite-Section**

 **Added that little scene at the end. Again, like I said above, not very good at emotional scenes haha. But I hope that at least made some of you smile.**

 **Have a good day, and leave a review as always!**


	6. Announcement again!

**Hi guys! Again, I'm sorry I'm not back with a chapter...but I'm done with my rewrites! Chapter 1 and 2 are almost completely rewritten...and I'm kind of lazy to rewrite the rest.**

 **I know, I should probably take more pride in my work...but I'll leave it up to you guys. Do you guys think that I have to rewrite Chp3-5? I'll have to spend a lot of time on that if I do.**

 **Anyways, I've added an extra scene at Chp5 because I felt like it. You can check that out with Chp1 and 2.**

 **I'll be working on the newest chapter for the next week or so. I've got things relatively planned out until USJ, so hopefully I'll get back into fanfic without anymore procrastination. Sorry for the Long wait. I really am, I know my life takes priority, but still.**

 **Anyways, summary!**

 **Rewritten Chapter 1 and 2, extra scene at End of Chapter 5.**

 **Next Chapter. Not Canon events yet. I'm sorry I lied, I wanna add one teensy little event that may or may not change a lot.**

 **Here's a little hint:**

 **WH**

 **Not a lot of fanfics cover this aspect of the Canon story, so I figured to have my go on it. Can you find out what I'm gonna write about?**

 **Please review and tell me what you think about the rewrites! I probably haven't improved, but I'll keep on trying! Let me know if there are any plot holes or stuff like that, I'll fix those up as soon as you guys tell me!**

 **Stay tuned for like a week or two more! Again, I'm so sorry!**

 **Also, that new cover picture is made by my friend irl, I just had to put it up!**


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